“Mimsy, in pain and unable to climb, had still managed to carry and protect Lottie …”

There’s nothing that can get in the way of a mother trying to care for her baby, especially in the animal kingdom. Take it from Mimsy, a mother koala in Stirling, Australia, who stopped at nothing to make sure her joey was safe, even after a debilitating injury.

In April, the staff at Koala Rescue received a call from a local resident about an unusual discovery.

“[They] had come across a [mom] and joey sitting on the ground, cuddled up together …” Koala Rescue wrote on Facebook.

As sweet as it was to see a baby koala nestled into his mom’s fur, the folks at Koala Rescue knew something was wrong. Typically, a mother koala would keep her joey high up in a tree, where they’d have food and shelter from predators. But these two were completely vulnerable on the ground.

A Koala Rescue rescuer rushed to the scene and examined the two koalas. They quickly determined that Mimsy had a broken leg, but her joey, Lottie, seemed to be overall healthy.

They drove the koalas to Adelaide Koala & Wildlife Centre, where X-Rays confirmed Mimsy’s recent leg fracture. Luckily, the fracture appeared to be healing well on its own, and she would only need medication to manage the pain.

Even though Mimsy had been suffering from a broken leg for two to three weeks, rendering her incapable of climbing trees, Lottie passed her health check with flying colors. This gave the staff insight on how hard Mimsy worked to care for her baby after being injured.

“Mimsy, in pain and unable to climb, had still managed to carry and protect Lottie and get to areas where they could get food, likely from the ground of very low eucalyptus branches,” Koala Rescue wrote. “Mimsy had done an amazing job as Lottie is a good and healthy weight.”

The staff praised Mimsy for her fierce determination and let her know that it was OK to finally rest. They started Mimsy on a treatment plan and bottle-fed Lottie formula since she couldn’t nurse while her mom was on medication.

That night, Mimsy and Lottie settled into a cozy pet bed, where they had the most comfortable sleep in weeks.

As Mimsy and Lottie began to thrive, their friends at Koala Rescue started expanding their habitat. Lottie practiced climbing in a large aviary, and Mimsy began scaling branches in their enclosure. A month after their rescue, the two marsupials were happier than ever.

“Mimsy’s weight has blossomed … and [she’s] no longer required to have pain relief management, although she really does love the cherry-[flavored] taste of Panadol,” Koala Rescue wrote in a Facebook update. “During her recovery, her baby, Lottie, has spent time with [mom] for cuddles and time away from mom socializing with her little buddy, Theo.”

Two months later, Mimsy and Lottie officially reached the milestone their caretakers had been waiting for.

Lottie had passed her pre-release check with flying colors: “Lottie was given the all-clear to be released, and plans will be put in place very soon for [mom] and baby to be released together,” Koala Rescue wrote on Facebook. 

Mimsy and Lottie’s countdown to release has officially begun, and Koala Rescue’s staff couldn’t be more excited for them.

The dedicated rescuers can’t wait to see Mimsy climb high into her favorite tree with her baby in tow soon. Until then, they’ll keep showering the pair of koalas with love and praising Mimsy for her incredible work as the world’s best mom.