The amazing story of a koala found clinging to the axle of a 4WD in South Australia a few days ago is a startling reminder to grey nomads of how easy it is to pick up ‘hitchhikers’ on their travels.
In this case, the marsupial crawled into the wheelwell of the vehicle and hung on to the axle as if it were a tree fork. It apparently sat there for what must have been a nightmarish 16-kilometre drive through the winding, hilly terrain of the Adelaide Hills.
It was only after being flagged down by other motorists that the vehicle’s driver discovered the uninvited passenger … and called for help in rescuing the creature.
The Metropolitan Fire Service responded and had to remove the 4WD’s wheel to rescue the koala which was traumatised but surprisingly healthy.
“I could see her behind the wheel but I had no idea, until we got the wheel off, whether she had broken limbs or what the story was,” said fauna rescuer, Jane Brister, who had been called to the scene. “She’d been crying, was very distressed and was in shock for 48 hours.”
Unfortunately, the koala was found to be lactating and had knotted fur on her back — signs she had been carrying a joey – but volunteers were unable to find the missing joey. The koala was released back into the wild where it promptly climbed into the fork of a gum tree and went to sleep.
While this may be quite an unusual incident, ‘creature hitchikers’ are an issue in Australia, and grey nomads are commonly urged to keep an eye out for vehicle invaders.
Last year, a giant snake was found curled up in the engine of a vehicle, while the efforts to stop grey nomads accidentally transporting cane toads has even resulted in sniffer dogs searching caravans.
Similarly, long-distance, border-crossing caravanners and motorhomers are seen as prime suspects in the spread of fruit fly into new areas as they sometimes travel with produce from infested towns and cities interstate.
