On the way back from Mount Gambier yesterday, we saw this dopey little bugger sitting right in
the middle of the road.
I had to pull over, get out and move him. It’s a busy truck
route between Portland and the Mount, & I couldn’t just leave him there.
I tried quite a few times to move him off the road- but this wilful little turd wasn't moving for anyone!
So after a few attempts to shepherd him toward the safety of the nature strip, I made an executive decision to forcibly evict him before any heavy
traffic came to clean us both up!!
So I picked him up, and carried him
off the road.
It’s no good dumping a Koala on the
side of the road; you have to take them near a tree, a reasonable
distance from the road.
Hopefully, they will also be sufficiently aggravated so they aren’t tempted to return to the blacktop.
And aggravated he was...the grumpy bugger gave me
a love bite.
YEOWWWW!!!!
I set him down pretty sharpish, and
watched him head for safety.
Koala rescuer?
Maybe- maybe not. It occurs to me…
This little fellow might have had
enough. He may have wanted to commit suicide.
How would I know for sure? Why can’t
animals get tired of living too?
I might have buggered his plans. He
looked like he had a pretty good idea what he was doing.
No wonder he was cross.
What makes me think I know better than
the koala?
It was actually a selfish act on my
part; regardless of what he wanted…I didn’t want to leave him
there to be hit by a truck.
Plus it was a great photo op, as you
can see.
Maybe I deserved to be bit, the price
of my pictures.
Penance for thinking I know better than
the koala.
In my defence; Koala’s do tend to get
a little groggy, hopped up on gum leaves.
They can also be very territorial, and
this one was certainly arrogant. He wasn’t moving for anyone.
My way- the highway.
Maybe he really had no idea what might
be about to happen.
PLUS…I use this stretch of road quite
a bit. If I saw his carcass on the road (& no truck would have
stopped for him- suicide for the driver) I would have felt bad.
& I am getting
tired of taking koalas who have been hit to the vet.
We do what we do, for better or worse.
I guess as long as we think about what we do when it comes to nature.
It's a balancing act.
But I admit, I’m glad I stopped.
If I hadn’t…
I don’t think I would have been able
to sleep.
