Koalas might be some of Australia's most beloved and adorable icons, but icon status did little to help Santino and Fudge, two older male koalas unlucky enough to happen upon a construction site where they fell into a deep hole. Lodged in thick mud and debris, the situation looked dire for Santino and Fudge. Luckily, Santino and Fudge live in southeastern Queensland, where rescuers urgently transported them to the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital.
The hospital's veterinary team spent many hours carefully cleaning and treating the koalas. After extensive monitoring and treatment, the koalas made a strong recovery and were released back into the wild. While Santino and Fudge represent a surprising success story, not every injured wild animal is so lucky. The Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital is working to change that.
Located beside Australia Zoo in Beerwah, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital is one of the world's largest wildlife hospitals, treating around 10,000 injured animals each year who are brought in for treatment due to habitat loss, domestic animal attacks, road traffic, and other dangerous human interactions. The Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital works in tandem with the Australia Zoo, the rehabilitation arm to the wildlife centre's educational one, and is funded entirely by Wildlife Warriors, a charity that the late Steve Irwin and his wife Terri established in 2002.
"The Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital operates 24 hours a day, with the dedicated team providing specialized care around the clock," an Australia Zoo spokesperson told Globetrotting. "Every day begins with reviewing overnight admissions, assessing every patient and developing treatment plans to ensure each animal receives the specialized care it needs. Throughout the day, our expert team of veterinarians and nurses work together to provide medical care, perform surgeries, prepare specialized diets, monitor recovery, and rehabilitate native wildlife. This involves caring for patients already in rehabilitation, from birds and possums to koalas and kangaroos. Every patient is different, meaning no two days are ever the same, but the focus remains on giving every animal the best possible chance of returning to the wild."
With its surgical theatre, X-ray room, intensive care units, and pathology lab, the hospital provides rigorous care to a wide range of Australian species. But it's not exclusively focused on care and rehabilitation. The hospital also supports breeding programs, such as the first successful effort to hatch Irwin's turtles outside of the wild.
"What we hope every visitor takes away from Australia Zoo is a deeper connection with wildlife and an understanding that everyone has the ability to make a difference," says the spokesperson. "Every species plays an important role within our ecosystems, from the smallest insects to Australia's most iconic animals, and protecting wildlife means protecting the natural world we all share."
Seeing a koala is an iconic experience when visiting Queensland, right up there with snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef or learning to throw a boomerang. But many visitors might not realize how vulnerable beloved Australian animals really are. For instance, in 2022, koalas in Queensland, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory were listed as endangered under national environmental law, and their wild populations continue to face serious challenges. Supporting conservation efforts like the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital is critical to ensuring that not only koalas and kangaroo are in Queensland for you to see on your next trip to Australia but also thriving for generations to come.
You can add a tour of the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital to any Goway trip to Queensland.
You might say that Aren was destined to become a globetrotter after his family took him to Germany two times before he was four. If that wasn’t enough, a term spent in Sweden as a young teenager and a trek across Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand confirmed that destiny. An independent writer, director, and film critic, Aren has travelled across Africa, Asia, Central America, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. His favourite travel experience was visiting the major cities of Japan’s largest island, Honshu, but his love for food, drink, and film will take him anywhere that boasts great art and culture.