‘Haunt me forever’: Heartbreaking story behind photos showing a dead mother koala cradling her joey after they were hit by a car
- Wildlife volunteer left ‘haunted’ after finding dead koala cradling her dead joey
- Bernard Jean was called to the scene on Saturday to find both koalas dead
- When he couldn’t find life in the joey he placed her back in her mother’s arms
- Mr Jean said in her dying moments the mother pulled her joey in close
A wildlife volunteer accustomed to horrific sights said he was unable to sleep after finding a dead koala clutching her joey as they both lay dead by the side of a road.
Koala Crusaders volunteer Bernard Jean was called to Noosa, Queensland, after the animals’ bodies were found on Saturday.
What he found left him shaken – the site of a dead mother koala clutching her joey with dried blood coming from their mouths.
A wildlife volunteer accustomed to horrific sights said he was unable to sleep after finding a dead koala clutching her joey as they both lay dead after being run down
He said the placement of the bodies indicated that in her last moments the mother koala pulled her joey in close in an attempt to protect, rescue or mourn her.
‘Devastating Saturday for these two beautiful creatures… and for me! I answered a call to check onto a mum and a bub who were taken by a passerby from the side of the road where they had been hit by a car,’ Mr Jean wrote to social media.
‘When I got there the mum was still cradling tight the little girl. I removed the little body from the mum to check if there was still life in her but there wasn’t.’
When Mr Jean realised the joey had died, he put her back in her mother’s arms where he had found her.
‘This is what it takes when they loose their habitat and have to cross road, gardens with dogs and stress to the point where their dormant chlamydia comes out,’ he continued.
‘We’ve been asking for proper signage and lighting in this area for years! There have been fatalities in the past and what has been done?’
Queensland Koala Crusaders volunteer Bernard Jean said the placement of the bodies indicated that in her last moments the mother koala had pulled her joey in close in an attempt to protect, rescue or mourn her
Mr Jean said he would continue to petition the government to address the issues he outlined.
‘And please, please, drive slowly and carefully through wooded koala areas and especially at dawn and dusk, to me, these two gentle creatures loss is two too many,’ he wrote.
‘These pictures will haunt me for a long time.’
According to figures released by Moreton Bay Koala Rescue 21 koalas were killed in the region from being hit by cars in 2018 alone with the highest figures form 2012 when 115 were struck by vars and killed.
In total from 2009 to 2018 a total of 735 koala’s have been killed by cars in the Moreton Bay region.
In total from 2009 to 2018 a total of 735 koala’s have been killed by cars in the Moreton Bay region (road where koala and joey were found pictured)