This is Ella. We were walking through the koala reserve yesterday morning when we came across a group of people looking up a tree and there was Ella! She had just been released back into wild when we got there but her journey to freedom had been a complicated one.
Ella was found at Christmas a couple of roads from us, wandering about on the ground. Her mother had stopped carrying her on her back, as they do when the youngsters are about one year old, but she was not managing on her own so was taken in by the local koala rescue. They got her eating on her own and released her about four weeks ago into the same tree she was in today. She was managing well but then the storm hit breaking the branch she was on and she fell out of the tree! Luckily one of the koala rescuers was keeping an eye on her from his house overlooking the reserve and he braved the wild weather to retrieve her. Fortunately she was unhurt but had to go back to the rescue for a couple of weeks but she is back out now although she is very tiny, only 2.7kg. We have been back a couple of times since and she is still in the same tree but seems to be eating well.
We are into winter now but, as you can see from the picture of Ian and Monty walking along the mangrove boardwalk at the bottom of our road, it is still pretty nice during the daytime but a bit cool at night, thank goodness the duvet and some warmer clothes arrive with all our possessions tomorrow. However, we have some wonderful birds around like these corellas and there are still lovely things in flower and I have photographed a couple to show off.