Meet the world's luckiest koala: Killian had to be rescued SIX times before being moved away from a busy road where 80 of his brothers and sisters have been killed
A lucky koala who needed rescuing six times has been relocated away from a deadly road in an area that has already experienced 80 koala deaths this year.
Killian the male koala was most recently saved by Moreton Bay Koala Rescue on Saturday from a tree near the busy Anzac Avenue on the Redcliffe Peninsula, just north of Brisbane.
The mischievous marsupial previously caused train delays when he walked across the tracks at Kippa-Ring Station, also on the peninsula, last Thursday.
He then climbed up a power pole on the side of the tracks before Pine Rivers Koala Care came to collect him.
Killian lives in an area where there have been 80 koala deaths from car strikes this year. There have been 47 deaths and 11 injuries from June to present alone.
Killian the male koala is pictured after he was hit by a car on Anzac Avenue on the Redcliffe Peninsula, just north of Brisbane, in July. He has so far been rescued six times and was most recently rescued on Saturday
Killian was previously hit by a car on Anzac Avenue on July 19. After being struck, he climbed up a large tree on the median strip before being rescued.
He recovered for several months before he was released on September 17.
Earlier this month, Killian was again rescued from a large tree on the side of Anzac Avenue before being released back the next day.
An untagged female koala was found dead after being hit by a car on Anzac Avenue in Mango Hill, Moreton Bay just last week.
Moreton Bay Koala Rescue posted a graphic picture of the marsupial's lifeless body to Facebook.
'Rest in peace little lady. We know these images and posts upset you all but we will not deal with this slaughter silently, something MUST change,' they wrote.
An untagged female koala was found dead after being hit by a car on Anzac Avenue in Mango Hill, Moreton Bay just last week
Killian caused train delays when he walked across the tracks at Kippa-Ring Station, also on the peninsula, last Thursday. He then climbed up a power pole on the side of the tracks before Pine Rivers Koala Care came to collect him
While Anzac Avenue is a troublesome spot, more koalas have been killed on Moreton Bay's Eatons Crossing Road, which has claimed 13 koala lives this year.
Killian was rescued by Moreton Bay Koala Rescue for the first time on April 3 after he climbed up a power pole in a suburban street in Kippa-Ring.
He was also saved a second time by the nearby Pine Rivers Koala Care, which bring his total rescues to six.
An obvious solution to Killian's constant rescues would be to relocate him to another area - but Moreton Bay Koala Rescue is powerless to do so.
'MBKR are a nonprofit volunteer organisation, we have no authority to preform a relocation of any koala or take them into captivity,' the rescue service wrote on Facebook.
'This decision takes a lot of planning and can only be made by Queensland Government's Department of Environment and Science.
'We will keep staying positive for our mate Killian and hope he can finally find himself a nice little patch of trees AWAY from Anzac Avenue.'
An obvious solution to Killian's constant rescues would be to relocate him to another area - but Moreton Bay Koala Rescue does not have the authority to do so
Killian was most recently released back into the wild on Monday.
'And he’s off again... Killian's release really pulled the heart strings,' Moreton Bay Koala Rescue wrote on Facebook.
'Having to continually put him back on the Peninsula knowing all odds are against him. We have really grown to know Killian's personality and as cheeky as he is we have also grown to love him.
'We don’t want to lose him and if we had any other option for him we would have definitely taken it months ago.'
Senior rescuer Mike Fowler said 'Killian has nowhere to go because his habitat, which is scrubland, has all been developed'.
'He's got just a five square kilometre area, where there's alpha males. Killian's not an alpha male, so all these young males get pushed to the fringes looking for females, but when they get there, there's just roads, train stations and warehouses,' he said
'Some people are calling them urban koalas because they're living in urban streets. I've rescued countless koalas wandering the streets looking for trees.
'We are allowed to move them from danger but Queensland law states that koalas must be moved within one kilometre.'
Several housing developments have been completed in Moreton Bay in the last year, which have eroded koala habitats.
Killian was rescued by Moreton Bay Koala Rescue for the first time on April 3 after he climbed up a power pole in a suburban street in Kippa-Ring. He is pictured being released on April 4
Mr Fowler said politicians of all levels need to pay more attention to koala habitats before they are completely wiped out.
'There are hundreds of hectares of pristine koala habitat that is still being developed,' he said.
'It's a trickle down effect. The Federal government will tell the state government, we have X amount of people arriving in Queensland, so you have to develop more. Then the state government will tell local councils that they need to make more space.
'They're a national icon that are treated so poorly by politicians at all levels. I've never had a politician go on a rescue with me, but they all want to go on a release because it's a nice photo opportunity. '
There have been 29 koalas hit by cars with only one survivor at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital on the NSW North Coast this year.
The spike in koala road deaths comes after a devastating bushfire season that killed harmed or displaced three billion Australian animals. The exact number of koalas affected nationally is unknown.
Last summer's bsuhfires wiped out 71 per cent of koala in six major locations on the NSW North Coast, according to a World Wildlife Fund report from last month.
In the Kiwarrak and Khappinghat Nature Reserve, 87-100 per cent of koalas were killed, according to the report.
Meanwhile, 34 per cent of koalas were killed in the Lake Innes Nature Reserve near Port Macquarie.
The bushfires and spike in road deaths have put more pressure on the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital than ever before.
KILLIAN THE KOALA'S RESCUES AND RELEASES
- April 3: Killian was rescued by Moreton Bay Koala Rescue for the first time after climbing up a power pole on a suburban street in Kippa-Ring
- April 4: Killian was released back into bushland on the peninsula
- July 19: Killian was hit by a car on Anzac Avenue before climbing a large tree in the median strip. Moreton Bay Koala Rescue took him into their care.
- September 17: Killian was released back into bushland on the peninsula
- October 3: Killian was rescued from a large tree on the road side of Anzac Avenue by Moreton Bay Koala Rescue
- October 4: Killian was released back into bushland on the peninsula
- October 8: Killian crossed the tracks at Kippa-Ring Station, causing train delays. He then climbed up a pole before Pine Rivers Koala Care came to collect him
- October 9: Killian was released back onto the peninsula
- October 10: Killian was rescued from a tree near the busy Anzac Avenue on the Redcliffe Peninsula by Moreton Bay Koala Rescue
- October 11: Killian was released back onto the peninsula by Moreton Bay Koala Rescue