Abandoned baby koala rescued in Australia after torrential storms

Huge storms over eastern Australia in the last few days have left at least four people dead and caused millions of dollars worth of damage. The ruinous weather hasn't only affected humans though, with the varied Australian wildlife having taken its own beating.

In one small town, this meant a new small arrival. According to ABC News, Louise Haynes of Hawks Nest, New South Wales, was setting off for work when she heard a commotion from the chickens; when she investigated she came across a baby koala at the foot of a tree, crying for her mother.

Haynes quickly wrapped the joey up in her jumper and rushed her inside to get her warm again. "It was cold when I picked it up, but soon warmed up and snuggled in," she told the news station.

After making sure the fuzzy, grey baby was warm enough, Haynes called the Hunter Koala Preservation Society Care and Rescue. Haynes was quite sure she knew who the mother was – Princess: "Princess is the only tagged koala in Hawks Nest, one of a small population of critically-endangered koalas."

But when they tried to reunite Princess with her joey, she wasn't interested. As much as the baby tried to climb up the tree or cried out, Princess ignored her – the rescuers had to accept that she had abandoned the baby.

The joey is now living with an expert carer in Port Stevens who has to tend to her all through the night. The female joey is considered particularly precious as the population of Koalas in Hawks Nest is dwindling to the point of extinction.

Alongside abandoned Koala babies, spiders have caused a scene in Tasmania after flooding from the storm. In an attempt to escape the rising waters, spiders fire webs upwards to catch the wind and float to safety, creating huge nettings of webs covering the tops of trees.