A day in the life of a koala rehabilitator

Here’s what a typical day looks like as a koala rehabilitator. 

Early morning bottle-feeds 

Start of the Mosswood day 

By 8 a.m., I’m awake again. We can have up to 14 joeys in care at a time, and it’s time for the second bottle feed for the smallest joeys—and the official start of the Mosswood day.  

The first thing to do is laundry. The amount of washing our dedicated volunteers do is enormous. Pouches, teddies, and blankets keep joeys warm and comforted in their baskets, and towels cover areas the koalas use. Everything needs to be washed and dried so that we can use them again.   

We then feed all the koalas and I do a general health check to ensure they’re recovering well. Then, we head outside to clean enclosures, replace towels, and top up the water containers. 

Next, I check on the other wildlife in our care and clean their enclosures. We often have penguins, seabirds, raptors, other birds, echidnas, possums, bats, and lizards undergoing rehabilitation. Soon enough, it’s time for more laundry and cleaning. We clean any used carriers, baskets, or boxes from wildlife that was brought in the day before and wash the milk bottles.  

If we have any new animals or if any of the ones in our care have health changes, I call our volunteer veterinarian to assess them. 

Before lunch, I attempt to return emails and calls and hope to have some time to grab something to eat myself!  

Time for lunch…for the animals 

My lunch plans are usually derailed, as we often have at least one new rescue to attend to. A volunteer will usually respond, but if none are available or if it’s a complex rescue, I go out myself.  

If we don't have any rescues that day, I’ll drive to our soft release site to check on the newly released koalas. The soft release site acts as a pre-release area where they can explore treetops while also remaining in a space that is fenced and monitored. 

Time for more laundry. 

At 2 p.m., I feed the small joeys their third bottle of the day. 

I then assist our volunteer veterinarian with any wildlife being assessed, treated, or, sadly, euthanised. Unfortunately, about 85% of wildlife that comes into our care is euthanised. This is because by the time an animal arrives, they've already been sick or injured for a while, and their chances of recovery have significantly decreased. That’s why every successful rehabilitation and release is so important. 

When our veterinarian is done with assessments, I clean and sterilise the treatment room so it’s ready for the next patient. 

Then it’s time to head outside again and set up enclosures for any new wildlife in care. 

We’re usually out every two to three days just to find the fresh branches, a variety of species and the amount we need for the number of koalas we have in care. Habitat loss and fragmentation in Victoria are a big problem, which means we’re travelling further and further just to make sure the koalas in our care are fed.  

This is an arduous and often unknown part of caring for koalas. It’s physically demanding, not the quickest thing to do, and not particularly fun—yet we must do it every single day, come rain, hail, or shine. 

Hopefully, one day we will have a nearby plantation of koala-suitable trees to harvest branches from so we don’t have to travel so far and so frequently every week. Once we find some leafy koala branches, we pack the utility vehicle to the point where we have leaves busting out of the windows, so we have enough to last us as long as possible. When we get back to Mosswood, we unload the branches into big drums of water, which helps them last an extra couple of days. Every day, we take down older branches, replace them with fresh browse, and top up the water drums. 

Then, it’s time to feed all the other animals, including the older koala joeys, who are ready for their second feed of the day. As joeys get older, they start to drink less milk as they eat more eucalypt leaves. 

More bottle feeds before bedtime 

At 8 p.m., the smallest joeys are ready for their fourth feed for the day. Afterwards, I make more milk if needed (I don’t want to realise we’ve run out at 2 a.m.!), clean bottles, and get everything ready for the early-morning feed. 

We humans get dinner somewhere between 9 and 10 p.m. If I have the time and energy, I try to reply to emails and phone calls and do some administrative work before heading to bed, ready to do it all again tomorrow. 

Every day is different, but the goal remains the same: to give every animal in our care the best chance at survival and release. It’s exhausting and sometimes heartbreaking, but it can also be exhilarating, and absolutely worth it.