When a koala lives 12 years in the wild it is a huge success and a cause for celebration. When that koala is a female who successfully raised many joeys it is even more amazing.
Sadly Mist had been gone for a few weeks and when she came back to the property late last week she was very unwell. I caught her and got her to the vet but she was beyond help, yes chlamydia.
"Australia's iconic koala has a problem that keeps boomeranging back. Chlamydia, a type of sexually transmitted disease also found in humans, has hit wild koalas hard, with some wild populations seeing a 100 percent infection rate. The infectious bacteria usually aren't fatal, but they can severely impact a koala's health." - National Geographic
The attached video is a huge celebration of the amazing life she lived - 12 years of health at Koala Gardens. I am determined to stick to the positives of how much she had, and that Krissy, Mist's joey from 2018 is making a full recovery from chlamydia, and that Mist will continue with her legacy of hope and education for many many years to come.
Vale Mist, the queen is gone, long live the queen - see you at the bridge girl.
REFERENCE
Katrina - Koala Gardens at Tuckurimba, NSW/Australia
https://www.facebook.com/koalagardens/
http://koalagardens.net.au
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