Second koala in 12 months left for dead near Bathurst

A male koala was found dead on the Mid Western Highway at around 1.20pm on Sunday afternoon.

Rod McClymont was driving along the road near Fitzgeralds Mount when he came across the koala lying in the centre of the lane. 

“It was obviously dead on the road, but I went past and turned around to check whether it was a female with a joey,” he said. 

“I turned it over and saw that it was a male. Then I moved it to the side of the road.” 

Dry blood on the surface of the road indicated that the koala had been there for a little while. 

What troubled Mr McClymont about the incident was that it occurred at a section of the highway with dual lanes. 

He said whoever was driving should have been able to move to the other lane to avoid hitting the koala. 

“It was one of those spots where you thought that if someone wanted to avoid it, they could have avoided it,” Mr McClymont said.

“If it was on a blind corner you could have understood why they hit it.”

Central West WIRES volunteer Kerrie Pearce said it was a very sad situation.

“The fact that it could have been missed and hasn’t is heartbreaking,” she said. 

Ms Pearce said kangaroos and wombats are more commonly hit on the region’s roads, but this was the second time in the past year that a koala had been hit and died from its injuries. 

Last September, a male koala thought to be around 6 years old was hit by a car on Ryans Road, south of Perthville, and left for dead. 

WIRES volunteers were notified at 7.30am on the morning of September 28 and went to rescue the koala. 

It was taken to Taronga Western Plains Zoo, where it underwent treatment for its injuries. 

The initial assessment of the koala found a fracture to its right arm and two dislocated fingers.

Despite a month of treatment, which included multiple surgeries, the koala died on August 31.

Ms Pearce said Sunday’s incident once again highlighted the need for people to report accidents and injured wildlife. 

“A quick call to us at WIRES to notify us is all that we need,” she said.

“They don’t need to stay at the scene.” 

She said that the earlier WIRES is notified, the better the chance of survival is for the injured animal. 

“It doesn’t matter what time of day or night, we can render first aid with our equipment and keep them overnight if we can’t get them to a vet,” Ms Pearce said. 

If you spot injured wildlife, call WIRES on 1300 094 737.

In the event of an emergency, if the hotline is not answered, Ms Pearce said people can always contact the local police, which has direct numbers for volunteers, or make a report to the WIRES app.