New resident koala, Lismore Rose, has wowed tourists with an amazing leap during her first public appearance at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital.
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The 18 month old's health issues were briefly forgotten as she took to the air and explored her new permanent residence at the hospital in Port Macquarie on September 30.
Koala Hospital clinical director Cheyne Flanagan said the koala is now doing well since being rescued underweight.
"There are some issues with her kidneys, which are ongoing, and she is not able to be released due to those kidney issues (and developmental delays)," said Ms Flanagan.
"For the rest of her life we will be monitoring her kidneys and doing what we can. Those issues are potentially from disease or genetic abnormalities.
"Consequently she won't be a koala that we would have in our breeding program. A lot of them do face serious kidney issues. There are particular things that can be a death sentence for wild koalas."
Lismore Rose was originally rescued in northern New South Wales during 2018 after being found on the ground, anaemic, dehydrated, in poor condition and weighing just 550 grams.
Friends of the Koala, a Lismore based care organisation, admitted her before sending her to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.
She was later transferred to Port Macquarie Koala Hospital for ongoing care in August.
"Often the mother koalas will discard them (joeys) if they know something is wrong. She may also have been abandoned after being hit by a car or falling off while her mother was being hassled by a male koala," said Ms Flanagan.
Lismore Rose is now the youngest koala of eight koalas in permanent exhibit areas at the hospital, under a Department of Primary Industry exhibit license approved in late September.
"There will be five star treatment for her here, she will get the best of care with regular health checkups and be there for the public to see," said Ms Flanagan.
You can adopt Lismore Rose through the hospital's Adopt a Wild Koala HERE.
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