You can't examine a wild koala without giving them an anaesthetic, so Lofty went off to sleep and we could check him over bit by bit.
We figured by his teeth he was 6 years old, yet he had hardly any male scent gland on his chest. This means he may have been sick for some time. He also was in very poor condition - you can't tell a koala is very thin just by looking at them, but you can by feeling certain parts of their body.
@888rachel If you look at the first photo in the series, where he is sitting in a tree you can see his bottom is so darkly stained with urine it is nearly black. I've never seen such a bad bottom. Other than that, I wouldn't have worried about him. On closer inspection by the vet he had conjunctivitis in both eyes, and his blood tests showed his system was 'leaking protein'. We suspect it was to do with the enormous cyst attached to his bladder.
It was interesting, even when so sad, and I did learn a lot more about koalas and their health to help me keep a better eye on each one I spot here. Thanks for commenting :)
@gilbertwood@happysnaps thanks for viewing and commenting
Denise, sadly if you got the the next photo you would find that we had to put him down, he was so terribly ill, poor chap :(
poor lofty, sad he was so ill he had to be put down but at least he is no longer in pain and you have gained so useful information to help you in your work with them
February 6th, 2016
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It was interesting, even when so sad, and I did learn a lot more about koalas and their health to help me keep a better eye on each one I spot here. Thanks for commenting :)
Denise, sadly if you got the the next photo you would find that we had to put him down, he was so terribly ill, poor chap :(