Clare Gover has rescued hundreds of Koalas over the years as a volunteer wildlife carer . Photo Nev Madsen / The Chronicle Nev Madsen CLARE Gover has been rescuing injured animals from the side of the road ever since she could walk.
The now 62-year-old woman has converted her Cabarlah home into a sanctuary for orphaned koalas.
The independent carer has rescued hundreds of koalas over the past 12 years.
Mrs Gover said it was a tough but rewarding experience raising the animals.
Koala joeys spend the first six month of their lives inside their mother's pouch and then cling onto her front, back or head. They will explore their surroundings but stay close to their mother for 18 months.
Caring for a joey is very demanding because of the close bond the joey would have shared with its mother.
Mrs Gover gets up every four hours throughout the day and night to feed the joeys a special milk formula. Younger joeys need to be fed every two hours.
"Koalas are a specialised species and very difficult to (raise)," she said.
"It takes a lot of training and care. They are very needy because they are with their mother for a long time.
"I'm always in calling distance so if they wake up and they cry out I can be there immediately."
Mrs Gover sets out each day to collect eucalyptus leaves.
"There is about 800 species of eucalyptus leaf. They eat roughly 20 of these species and in their area they might only have five they eat," she said.
"Rain, hail or shine you've got to go get their fresh leaf. It's a devil of a job, particularly in winter when there's not much available."
Mrs Gover pairs up rescued koalas so they have "buddies" and gives them teddy bears for comfort.
"They like to cling to the soft fur of the teddy bears, it's like the comfort of a mother."
Most of the rescued koalas have been orphaned after their mothers were hit by cars or attacked by dogs.
Mrs Gover has travelled all over the Darling Downs to rescue koalas and makes a mercy dash to have the injured animals assessed at wildlife hospitals on the Sunshine and Gold Coast.
"The rescues can be horrific. Koalas hit by cars have very mangled bodies," she said.
"It's really important if someone does hit a koala, they stop to see if she has a joey in her pouch.
"Or sometimes joeys can be flung across the road if they were on their mum's back."
Mrs Gover said her volunteering pays off when she gets to witness the koalas making a recovery and playing with each other.
"Though I see a lot of gore, blood and guts in the rescues, these tiny moments of pleasure make it worth it," she said.
"They are so precious and when the two buddies are playing at night in their little tree - it's something I will never take for granted.
"At least it's giving them another chance."
It is a gradual process to raise the orphans with the youngest koalas being cared for in a humidicrib.
Mrs Gover gradually moves the koalas from inside her home to special-built outside enclosure when they are older and have matured.
"From there they'll go to the animal hospital to get a final check-up, they are ear tagged, microchipped and moved to a large outdoor enclosure for pre-release and to dehumanise them," she said.
"Then by law they have to be released within 5kms of the area from which they came from."
The process of raising and releasing a koala joey back into the wild can take between 12 and 18 months.
Mrs Gover grew up caring for animals in Africa and has been a volunteer wildlife carer since she came to Australia in 1982.
She used to care for many species of wildlife but now focuses on koalas.
Anyone who finds an injured koala can phone Clare Gover on 0427 969 860.
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