CARING for injured or orphaned koala’s isn’t something we are all able to do but Bay local Julie Jennings is a senior carer at Port Stephens Koalas and she spends hours caring for these special locals in their time of need.

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Morton has hit celebrity status with 1.3 million views, 2,000 comments of love and support, 27,000 likes through Facebook on THE DODO.com

Morton was around five months old weighing just 340 grams when he came into care.

His mother was hit by a car and thankfully the traumatised driver called us immediately late in the night and Morton was saved.

Port Stephens Koalas have five home carers and each koala gets sole attention of one carer, building a bond of trust and knowledge, learning to treat and read the animals behaviour and demeanour.

Stress is a big issue with koalas, so having one carer helps enormously.

Julie Jennings told News Of The Area, “Morton was in my care for five months until he reached a weaning weight of 2 kilos.”

As he developed he was offered inside and then outside gyms to practice climbing on, eventually he graduated to real trees.

As soon as he gained weight on just leaf he was transferred to our rehabilitation facility to be dehumanised and at that point Julie’s contact with Morton ceased.

Morton stayed there for a few more months until he was 2.5 – 3 kilos and then he was released in a safe location as far away from people, traffic and dogs.

“The main cost for caring is our time, which is free as all the home carers at Port Stephens Koalas are volunteers.”

“I reckon Morton would have cost many thousands of dollars if we charged out our time.”

All Port Stephens Koalas that are released are microchipped, so if Morton ever comes into care again, we’ll know about it.

Morton’s story is a reminder to all of us how important it is to check the pouch if we see a marsupial that has been in a vehicle strike incident.

You can help support Port Stephens Koalas in their efforts to sustain our local koala population at www.portstephenskoalas.com.au

By Marian SAMPSON