Orphaned koala twins

[Jenn]

Comment: If the story about the driver taking the mother to the vet's is
accurate, I am questioning whether the twins could have remained alive
until they arrived at the hospital, unless the mother didn't die instantly.
The pictures look authentic, but I wonder about the story:

It is not common for a Koala to bear twins. And regrettably in this instance the
Mum was struck and killed by a passing car. Fortunately, the driver stopped,
and took the mother to the local vet, not knowing she was dead...Where it
was discovered she had these twins in her pouch.

First photo: Tiny koala being fed with syringe... Sooo tiny!! Followed by a
pictorial chronology of their growth...

[Em]

Originally Posted by Jenn

I am questioning whether the twins could have remained alive until they arrived at the hospital, unless the mother didn't die instantly.

There are several hundred Tammars living on the island on which I work. In the joining instructions, We're told to stop and check the pouch of any we see hit by cars*, just in case it's a female with young.

A baby marsupial in the pouch is a bit like a human baby in a pram, so it is quite possible for it to survive it's mothers death if it wasn't crushed in the impact and is found and taken to appropriate care before it's had time to starve to death.

*The little buggers appear to have suicidal tendencies.

[Auntie Witch]

I've read that the same recommendation is made in some areas of checking female opossums. Unfortunately, most people just keep going, which is probably safer, anyway, lest she's just stunned and comes to while being prodded. Possums have 50 teeth!

[wanderwoman]

Yeah, AW, and they play...well, it's all in the name.

Em, is a Tammer a koala? I can't find a definition online.

[bufungla]

Originally Posted by Em

There are several hundred Tammars living on the island on which I work. In the joining instructions, We're told to stop and check the pouch of any we see hit by cars*, just in case it's a female with young.

A baby marsupial in the pouch is a bit like a human baby in a pram, so it is quite possible for it to survive it's mothers death if it wasn't crushed in the impact and is found and taken to appropriate care before it's had time to starve to death.

*The little buggers appear to have suicidal tendencies.

I had a car totaled by an Eastern Grey that jumped out in front of me from the median. While the carcass was left by the side of the road for weeks, the next day it had a large, day-glo X spray-painted across the side of it, indicating that it had been checked for joeys (presumably so it could be rescued, nursed back to health, raised and released back into the wild ... where somebody else could run over it).

[granola shoes]

I am unable to comment on these photos as I have died from the cute.

[Em]

Originally Posted by wanderwoman

Em, is a Tammer a koala? I can't find a definition online.

No, it's a type of wallaby.

Originally Posted by bufungla

I had a car totaled by an Eastern Grey that jumped out in front of me from the median.

Tammars are too small to damage anything much larger than a Matchbox car.

[CSGirl]

Originally Posted by Auntie Witch

I've read that the same recommendation is made in some areas of checking female opossums.

We used to visit our Audobon Society a lot. For a while, they have baby possums, and that's exactly how they got them- someone saw a possum on the side of the road, checked, and rescued the babies!

And... OMG, baby koalas! Gotta show DH, he *loves* koalas.

[wanderwoman]

Thank you Em, those are very cute too. You Australians ended up with the cutest marsupials. Not to bash opossums, but really you did.

And now I'm going to have to stop and check all the dead opossums I see. Darn you, snopes board, with your imparting knowledge I could have lived without!

[Auntie Witch]

I had a possum - he was very smart, very sweet. A few years after, I found an orphaned female just shy of weaning age.

I learned the hard way that somewhere between when we found Alphie's age, and the age this gal was at, they are no longer sweet to strangers.

wanderwoman, if you check a possum, be very, very careful. They don't react often to a threat, but when they get over their sluggishness (it's actually a biological reaction, and their whole system slows down), they tend to lunge. Sudden shocks make them "play possum". Usually they just hiss, show off their teeth, and sometimes even foam at the mouth to keep predators at bay.

[wanderwoman]

Yeah, I am very wary of wild animals in general, AW. And of course I always see opossums on the road at night!

I have had three up close and personal experiences with them. Once, when one somehow got into a trash can that was upright(!)

I dragged the trash can into a field and tipped it away from me and left. Later it was empty and I assume the critter went home.

Another time, Frodo, my late chow/lab mix, cornered one and I thought he had killed it because it looked dead. However, once I corralled the dog and went back to bury the opossum, it had left. Played possum on us!

The third time I had raccoons in my attic and hired someone to live trap them, but the idiot put the trap on the ground instead of the roof (they were getting in and out through a hole in the porch roof).

An opossum got trapped instead. I opened the trap door and went back into the house. A bit later I saw the opossum leave the trap and waddle off.

[bufungla]

Originally Posted by Em

No, it's a type of wallaby.
Tammars are too small to damage anything much larger than a Matchbox car.

Psst - I was quoting you because I was agreeing with you about the suicidal tendencies of macropods who like to fling themselves in front of cars, not because I thought a Tamar Wallaby could total a car.

PS: Happy Australia Day!

[Em]

Not through lack of trying, from what I've seen. Anyway, if I hadn't replied I wouldn't have had an excuse to post the picture.

[SatansHobbit]

Originally Posted by wanderwoman

You Australians ended up with the cutest marsupials. Not to bash opossums, but really you did.

Not to mention the gorgeous venomous snakes, the darling poisonous octopuses, , the sweet Great White Sharks, the pretty sea snakes, the fluffy killer spiders, the lovable cone shells, the huggable scorpions, and who could forget the cuddly saltwater crocodiles.

[damian]

Originally Posted by bufungla

I had a car totaled by an Eastern Grey that jumped out in front of me from the median. While the carcass was left by the side of the road for weeks, the next day it had a large, day-glo X spray-painted across the side of it, indicating that it had been checked for joeys.

We do that to send a message to his friends: Keep out of our way.

Originally Posted by wanderwoman

You Australians ended up with the cutest marsupials.

Makes up for every other creature here that will kill you.

Originally Posted by bufungla

Happy Australia Day!

Thanks mate.

[wanderwoman]

Sorry guys, I didn't mean to imply Australia was totally cuddly. I do understand that there are many more dangerous animals there.

Happy Australia Day!

[damian]

Originally Posted by wanderwoman

Sorry guys, I didn't mean to imply Australia was totally cuddly. I do understand that there are many more dangerous animals there.

Even the "cuddly" creatures can mess you up. A 'roo can open you up from neck-to-nethers with one kick. Koalas can scratch, but are more likely to pee all over you. But far and away the most dangerous creature is the Dropbear. With a sharp tongue and an even sharper wit, the Dropbear can tear shreds off you.

[Skeptic]

Originally Posted by Jenn

Is that woman in the photo Terri Irwin. The hair colour is similar and the clothes are typical of what she wears.

[franjava]

Does look like Terri, doesn't it? I love the Erwin family.

SatansHobbit, I want a fluffy killer spider.

[SatansHobbit]

...and as the CSI unit turned the ravaged corpse of Terri Irwin over, they caught the the faint but unmistakable aroma of eucalyptus and urine.

Blinky Bill had struck again.

Originally Posted by franjava

SatansHobbit, I want a fluffy killer spider.

All yours