Brave koala's desperate fight after falling into river

A young koala who fell into a river was lucky to be spotted as it clung onto a height marker in the middle of the waterway.

It is thought the male marsupial, estimated to be between two and three years old, may have lost its footing and fell out of a tree overhanging the river at Forrest in the Otway Ranges, in Victoria’s south, and swam as far as it could.

Tina Lawrence, from SurfCoast Wildlife Shelters Group, received a call after local residents, who had been riding their bikes along a pathway next to the water, came across the stranded animal about 1pm on Tuesday.

“Obviously he couldn’t get out at that point because the banks (nearby) were really steep and high,” Ms Lawrence explained.

Ms Lawrence said the depth marker was next to a weir and it was a two- or three-feet drop on the other side, so it was lucky the post was there for the young animal to cling onto.

“There was nowhere he was going to be able to get out. The only other alternative was to go over the weir,” she said.

“Although they can swim they only do it if they really have to.”

The locals had placed branches at the base of the post, but the animal was not eager to climb down.

Ms Lawrence and a number of other locals joined in on the rescue attempt.

She added that had he been left alone he probably could have got across the branches, but they decided that as the marsupial had been out in the sun in about 26C heat for a number of hours, it was better to try to get him out as fast as they could.

There was also the risk of dogs scaring the koala from the river bank.

They gently coaxed the koala to move down the marker and onto the branches below, which was described as “no easy feat”.

“Once he realised he could get across the bridge of branches he made his way across onto the dry bank,” Ms Lawrence said.

The young koala gathered his thoughts and eventually made his way into the safety of a nearby tree.

Ms Lawrence said they stayed there until they knew he was safe.

“This was a pretty simple solution. It was just a matter of persuading him it was in his best interest but very happy with the outcome,” she said.

Ms Lawrence said the happy ending was also a credit to the locals.

“If anything comes up or if they’re concerned about anything, they get on the phone and let us know and they’re always happy to help,” she said.