Good news: Brisbane walker frees a koala joey from a python and reunites it with its mother
A wildlife rescuer out walking her dog in Brisbane intervened when she found a python wrapped around a baby koala. She freed the joey, checked its breathing and movement, and returned it to its waiting mother.
Bias breakdown and outlet coverageon the RUSH story page →The rescue
ABC reported that Nell was walking her dog, Pluto, in Whites Hill Reserve at Camp Hill when birds drew her attention to the scene about 15 metres off the path. The mother koala was trying to scratch the snake off her baby.
Nell picked up the joey and unravelled the roughly metre-and-a-half python. She put the snake in a small tree while she checked that the koala was breathing and moving its limbs normally, then watched it climb straight back to its mother.
She moved the unharmed python farther away. Returning an hour or two later, she found mother and joey cuddling. Nell posted the video to raise awareness about koalas and the threats the endangered species faces — a bright ending for both the joey and the snake.