STRESS caused by the loss of habitat is beginning to have a real effect on the health of koalas in Port Stephens, carers say.
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Doro, a five- to six-year-old female, is one such koala who has been impacted by habitat loss.
She was found on a footpath in Salamander Bay on July 25 with “weepy eyes”.
Hunter Koala Preservation Society carer Sue Swain, who rescued and nursed Doro back to health, said she believed the creature had been displaced by the residential development on Tarrant Road at Salamander Bay.
“She lost a huge chunk of her habitat and is stressed,” Mrs Swain said. “When koalas are stressed their immune system crashes and they get sick.”
Doro was named after the NSW Ambulance paramedic, Mark Doran, who found the koala and called the society.
It was the first time the society had encountered the koala. She was found alone but Mrs Swain said her pouch has been used.
Doro’s eyes were being treated by Mrs Swain when she started urinating “really frequently”.
Frequent urination is the start of “wet bottom” – a koala symptom for chlamydia.
She was treated with antibiotics for four weeks when her condition plateaued. A trip to Noah’s Ark Vert Clinic revealed Doro had a cyst on her ovary.
She was put on a higher dose of antibiotics. Last week, Doro was given the all clear by a vet. She was microchipped and released near where she was found in Salamander Bay on Monday, September 19.