A close encounter in suburban Adelaide between a boy and a curious, wild baby koala imprints a once in a lifetime experience which would be envied across the world and never to be forgotten.

This was an unforced connection between nature and human where there was a moment of mutual understanding that my son and the baby koala were both there for each other... my son was there for that baby koala, unbeknownst to him, there to support her because her mother was so sick...and that baby koala choosing to give my son, who loves all animals, a unique experience that many people could only imagine. This moment shared more love with nature in 4 minutes of video and (as is evident by the many positive comments) has had a ripple effect to those who have watched it.

This mother koala was very sick, as we were made aware later. Now I look back, it was a for a reason for us to come across this sick mum. She was picked up by Koala Rescue and taken to the animal hospital, diagnosed with advanced kidney disease and had to be euthanised. The baby, who would’ve soon been left orphaned if we had not raised the alert, had to go to a rescue home until she was old enough to be released back into the wild. The baby girl was named Matilda. She was only in the rescue home for a short while until she deteriorated. She was checked by a specialist koala hospital and found to also be suffering from kidney disease, commonly found in koalas, and this little koala, Matilda, died also. Through this experience we learnt that koalas do not drink to the extent that mother was. Koalas usually get their water through the eucalyptus leaves which they eat. It was a significant experience for us.

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