Koala hit by car travelling 100kph and survives
In an extraordinary tale of survival, a koala has miraculously survived a high-speed collision with a car in South Australia by lodging itself in the vehicle’s front grille.
Loren Davis was driving down the South Eastern Freeway on Thursday when she noticed her vehicle strike the koala, which has since been given the nickname Bear Grylls.
Distraught, Ms Davis pulled over but didn’t notice the koala had lodged itself in the grille until she arrived at home.
“I didn’t see the koala until my headlights found it but I couldn’t’ change lanes because another car was there (on the inside lane),” Ms Davis told ABC online. “I slammed my brakes on but another car was behind me, so there was no choice but to hit the koala.”
The koala was taken to a vet where it was deemed mostly uninjured, suffering only minor abrasions.
This story prompted another Adelaide resident to recount a similar incident that had happened to her when she was driving at high speeds near the region. Rachel Allgood also struck a koala in similar circumstances, and as in the first incident, the koala survived by lodging itself in the front of the car.
“I had cars to the side of me and cars behind me, so I could not swerve or brake,” Ms Allgood told ABC Online. “I unfortunately had to hit it and did not think the koala would survive.”
It seems as though the koala was able to extract an element of revenge on Ms Allgood when she realised a few days later that it had managed to inflict major damage on the vehicle.
While these escapes are amazing, if there’s anything that should be taken from these stories it’s the importance of paying attention while driving, particularly when you’re at high speeds.