The Pet Channel Talks With Dr. Ken Phillips 25 years ago, Jean Starr was an Australian shopkeeper concerned about the plight of Koala Bears in her country. Unfettered development, particularly in coastal areas where key eucalyptus trees grow, had stripped the species of its natural habitat and source of water and nourishment. When the opportunity came along to sell her shop at a profit, Starr took it and used the money to found a hospital dedicated to aiding sick or injured Koalas in Port Macquarie, New South Wales. Charlie Upton, a newspaper reporter, also contributed to the effort to get the hospital up and running by keeping the Koalas in the news. The hospital has an emergency response phone number and operates 24 hours a day.
Rescue teams go into the field to pick up sick or injured animals.
They are treated and then returned to the wild. According to Dr Ken Phillips, who runs the NY office of the Koala Preservation Society of New South Wales, the hospital's governing body, Koalas exhibit remarkable intelligence. They tend to sense when humans are trying to help them, and can often be treated without tranquilizers even when in pain or frightened. This is a complicated question. Koalas fall prey to many of the same side effects of civilization which affect many wild animals.