Bathurst WIRES volunteer Louise O’Brien received a call at 7.30am to say an injured koala had been seen making its way off a road and trying to scramble up nearby a tree.

Along with her work colleague Luke Sweet and fellow WIRES volunteer Kerrie Pearce, the trio made their way to Ryans Road south of Perthville with rescue equipment.

“There was blood on the road and I saw one of his claws on the road,” Ms O’Brien said. “I thought he’d been hit by a car, there was tufts of fur on the road.”

In order to catch the injured koala, the trio blocked its escape up the tree and the marsupial shuffled back to the ground where he was caught.

She said the koala looked to have significant injuries to its hand, and also had blood on other parts of its body.

“He would have been in a lot of pain,” Ms O’Brien said.

She said she was shocked that whoever hit the koala on the road did not stop to check on its condition and call for help.

“At least stop and make the effort to call it in,” Ms O’Brien said. “These guys are vulnerable and every one is precious.”

The injured koala was transported to the animal hospital at Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo for treatment.

Veterinarian Dr Michelle Campbell said the koala was an adult male aged around six years old.

He was assessed by the zoo’s vet team who said the koala had serious injuries, including a fracture to his right arm and two dislocated fingers.

No other internal injuries were detected, however Dr Campbell said when an animal suffers a very significant trauma these types of injuries may not be apparent at the initial assessment.

“It’s very early days. We’ll review the koala’s injuries tomorrow [Thursday] and change his bandage, and moving forward reassess him daily,” she said. “It is likely that he will be with us for some time while he heals.”

If you seen an injured native animal that needs assistance call WIRES on 1300 094 737.