TIMOTHY is one of the lucky koalas being cared for at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital.
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He was found on the side of the road after being hit by a car on August 10.
"He was sitting on the side of the road on Hamlyn Drive after a motor vehicle accident," Port Macquarie Koala Hospital team leader Sheila Bailey said.
"Timothy had severe degloving leg wounds. There was no skin there, you could see the bone in his leg."
He was first taken to a local vet by a member of the public where his wounds were bandaged before being taken to the Koala Hospital where he went straight into the ICU unit.
"He was given pain relief and medication to stop infections from his injuries," Ms Bailey said.
"His treatment has been stopped now which is good, but he still gets re-bandaged twice a week."
Timothy's wound site continues to heal and there are no signs of infection.
"When his bandages are changed twice a week, he is also treated with a laser for two minutes to help the healing process," Ms Bailey said.
"Once he is well enough and his bandages are off he will go out into one of the yards outside for rehab. This is when we will see if he can climb and the decision will be made whether he will be able to be released."
The hospital cares for koalas suffering from a number of ailments. One of the leading causes of death in the species is chlamydia.
"A lot of them do die from chlamydia. They get it in their eyes and also get what we call wet bottom," Ms Bailey said.
"When it gets in their eyes it usually causes them to lose their eyesight and go blind.
"This has been the case for two of our patients, Summer and Mary, who have been here for a while and more or less can't see."
Summer and Mary, along with a few other patients at the hospital, won't be released back into the wild due to their condition.
Volunteers at the Koala Hospital are also urging residents to slow down and keep an eye out for koalas as breeding season starts.
"They do move around a lot more during breeding season and are more active and will cross roads," Ms Bailey said.
"We have a 24 hour service here at the hospital. Even if it's in the middle of the night, someone will answer the phone and we've got people that will come out and pick up the koala.
"The best thing for people to do is to slow down."
If you do see an injured koala, call the hospital on 6584 1522.
The Koala Hospital is currently operating on skeleton staff during lockdown.
"We aren't too busy with patients at the moment. We have had a few patients come in recently that were able to be released quite quickly which has been good," Ms Bailey said.
"Because of lockdown we are operating with two shifts of volunteers each day who come in and clean the pens and feed the koalas."
September also marks Save the Koala Month. The initiative by the Australian Koala Foundation aims to improve the management of the wild koala and its habitat.
This year, the organisation has announced a new initiative called the Koala Kiss Project to help map adjoining koala habitat from Cairns to Melbourne.
To find out more about the Australian Koala Foundation, visit their website.
To find out more about the important work the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital does, visit their website.
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