LATE one Saturday night a young koala was thirsty so he wandered up to one of Port Macquarie's pubs, probably seeking out a gumnut smoothie. With no luck, he left and crossed a busy road, but was fortunately rescued by a passer-by and taken to The Koala Hospital.
Create a free account to read this article
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Named Horton Harley D, he is one of several adventurous, sick and injured koalas that can be adopted in The Koala Hospital's Adopt-a-koala for Christmas campaign.
For $50 the gift recipient will receive a certificate of adoption with the koala's name, photo and a short story about its life. Or for $35 you can buy an eAdoption and an adoption certificate will be emailed immediately.
All funds raised go towards saving and treating sick or injured koalas.
The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital in NSW is the only wildlife hospital solely dedicated to the conservation, protection and care of wild koalas. Run by volunteers, it treats about 250 koalas a year.
Koalas are a threatened species whose habitat is continually decimated by urbanisation, resulting in disease, dog attacks and road injuries.
Horton Harley D's big night out ended well. He has been released along with two other young koalas into a beautiful habitat that has low koala numbers, with the hope of repopulating the area.
The Koala Hospital is the number one visitor attraction in Port Macquarie with more than 25,000 people visiting from all over the world.
It is open daily 8am-4pm (excluding Christmas Day). Entry is free but donations are appreciated.
There is a daily Walk and Talk tour at 3pm.
You can view profiles of the adoption koalas online, select a koala, pay online and the adoption package will be delivered in Australia or overseas (extra $5 for overseas).
(02) 6584-1522, www.koalahospital.org.au
For touring and visiting the region contact the Greater Port Macquarie Visitor Centre,
1300-303-155, www.portmacquarieinfo.com.au
