Koala Joey Was in a Python’s Coils. An Hour or Two Later, It Was Cuddling Mum
A wildlife rescuer named Nell freed a koala joey from a 1.5-meter python in Brisbane's Whites Hill Reserve, then found mother and baby cuddling when she checked back.
A Brisbane wildlife rescuer named Nell pulled a koala joey, or baby koala, free from a python’s coils in Whites Hill Reserve at Camp Hill and returned it to its mother, ABC News reported on Nov. 6. Nell said she moved the snake away unharmed, and when she checked back an hour or two later, mother and baby were cuddling.1
Nell was walking her dog, Pluto, when she heard a commotion about 15 meters off the footpath.1
“I heard a lot of birds, so I ran over and that’s when I saw the joey look me dead in the eyes panicked and the mum was scratching at a python as she tried to get it off her baby.”
The mother koala was very distressed and was scratching at the snake to get it off her joey. Nell scooped up the joey and started unwinding the python.1
“I didn’t know if the baby was breathing or had broken ribs or anything in that moment, I just picked it up and started unravelling,”
Nell said that to the ABC.1
Help arrives, with limits
A man walking nearby offered to help. He declined to hold the snake, though, and offered to hold her dog instead.1
Nell put the snake in a small tree, then checked the joey’s limbs and breathing. She took the baby to the tree where its mother was, and the joey went straight up to her.1
That left the python. Nell said it was about 1.5 meters long. She believes it would have killed the joey but could not have swallowed it.1
Rather than leave it near the koalas, she carried the snake wrapped around her arm until she felt it was far enough away that it wouldn’t return. Not every dog walk ends that way.1
Back at the spot an hour or two later
Nell posted video of the encounter on her Instagram account, @behappy.golucky, which also supplied the photos the ABC ran. The story comes from her account and that video. She said she shared it to raise awareness of koalas, which the ABC describes as endangered, and of the challenges they face.1
“I came back about an hour or two later and saw the mum and her baby cuddling and they looked so happy.”
The snake, she said, was fine too.1
Did this make your day? Give it a cheer.
Sources
- Woman rescues koala joey from hungry python in Whites Hill Reserve in Brisbane (headline: Woman rescues baby koala from grips of python in Brisbane) ABC News (Australia), by Liz Gwynn, 2026-11-06
