Pole-ar bear! Adorable koala is rescued after falling from a tree and landing in a river before clinging onto a flood marker to survive
- Koala has been rescued after falling from a tree and landing in a river in Victoria
- Three locals saved the animal by building a makeshift bridge out of branches
- SurfCoast Wildlife Shelters thanked the rescuers in a statement on Facebook
- The organisation reported that the koala has now returned safely to nearby trees
A very lucky koala has escaped a near-death experience after he slipped from a tree and landed in a river below.
The adorable animal was saved by three locals who luckily spotted him while he was clinging to a flood marker pole in the middle of a waterway in Great Otway National Park, in southern Victoria, yesterday.
In a bid to rescue the animal the passers-by - known only as Peter, Sandy and Paula - built a makeshift bridge out of large branches for the koala to crawl across to safety.
The koala was saved by three locals who luckily spotted it while it was clinging to a flood marker pole in the middle of a waterway in Great Otway National Park
Thankfully, the quick-thinking trio rescued the animal in good time - as the situation could have taken a turn for the worse if he had been left to fend for himself for much longer.
SurfCoast Wildlife Shelters, who were alerted to the incident, explained that although koalas can swim they need easy access to dry land - so the actions of the onlookers could well have saved the koala's life.
Share this article
The organisation that ‘protects, rescue and rehabilitate sick, injured and orphaned native wildlife’ issued a statement on its Facebook page detailing the rescue.
‘This young koala somehow fell into the river at Forest in the Otways. Koalas can swim but need a place where they can get out of the water,' it said.
‘Here there was only high grassy banks and a very slippery steep concrete edge,’ it read.
SurfCoast Wildlife Shelters, an organisation that ‘protects, rescue and rehabilitate sick, injured and orphaned native wildlife’ issued a statement on Facebook following the incident
‘After placing some large branches at the base of the water depth post to make a makeshift bridge, Peter was able to gently wrangle this guy down the post (no easy feat) and onto the branches so that he could walk across to the river bank and dry land.'
The social media post ended on a positive note, with an update on the koala's progress after his near-fatal fall.
‘Happy to report that after recovering from his ordeal, he eventually made his way to nearby trees.
‘Great work from everyone involved especially locals Peter, Sandy and Paula,’ the statement signed off.
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to SurfCoast Wildlife Shelters for comment.
