![Too Cute to Fail](https://cdn.magzter.com/1377116771/1718368810/articles/jXiIWXkLE1718715373348/TOO-CUTE-TO-FAIL.jpg)
Ten-month-old Emerson fixed his big brown eyes on me and yawned. Still groggy from a nap, the koala rubbed his face, then stuck out an expectant paw. The nurse escorting me through his enclosure smiled. “He’s looking for his milk,” she said.
Four months earlier, when Emerson was admitted to Northern Rivers Koala Hospital, in New South Wales, Australia, he was so small that volunteers had to feed him with a syringe, dribbling formula into his mouth, his furry body swaddled in a towel. Now healthy and about five pounds, he was one of the most effortlessly anthropomorphized animals I had ever come across. With his big nose and round- bodied floofiness, his shuffling movements, his droopy eyelids and eagerness to cuddle, he seemed like nature’s ultimate cross between a teddy bear, a bumbling grandpa, and a sleepy toddler.
“The first thing I tell my volunteers when they come here to start is: ‘You will not be cuddling these koalas,’ ” Jen Ridolfi, the volunteer coordinator for Friends of the Koala, the nonprofit that runs Northern Rivers, told me. But sometimes even the most stoic get attached. Many koalas spend months here; volunteers call them “dear,” “sweetie,” and “love.” I watched one volunteer lean down to coo at a male named Gigachad. “I just want to kiss his nose,” she said, before quickly assuring me that she wouldn’t. Even FOK’s veterinary staff will occasionally pat the backs of koalas during routine checkups or slip a hand into the paw of an animal under anesthesia.
Denne historien er fra July - August 2024-utgaven av The Atlantic.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra July - August 2024-utgaven av The Atlantic.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
![An Intoxicating 500-Yearold Mystery - The Voynich Manuscript has long baffled scholars-and attracted cranks and conspiracy theorists.](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1797043/k2vxV42zP1723916604215/crp_AN-INTOXICATING-500YEAROLD-MYSTERY.jpg)
An Intoxicating 500-Yearold Mystery - The Voynich Manuscript has long baffled scholars-and attracted cranks and conspiracy theorists.
The Voynich Manuscript has long baffled scholars-and attracted cranks and conspiracy theorists. Now a prominent medievalist is taking a new approach to unlocking its secrets.
![Pity the Bad Man](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1797043/hgd9ej6Tv1723919555863/PITY-THE-BAD-MAN.jpg)
Pity the Bad Man
A bold new novel invites the reader to consider the plight of the bullies and the boors.
![The Wild Adventures of Fanny Stevenson](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1797043/q5q1NYGXD1723919326499/THE-WILD-ADVENTURES-OF-FANNY-STEVENSON.jpg)
The Wild Adventures of Fanny Stevenson
Her surprising marriage to Robert Louis Stevenson changed literary history.
![Does the World Need a Great American Biracial Novel?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1797043/Y3Q0tzV3-1723919128590/DOES-THE-WORLD-NEED-A-GREAT-AMERICAN-BIRACIAL-NOVEL.jpg)
Does the World Need a Great American Biracial Novel?
The hero of Danzy Senna’ new satire is trying, and failing, to write one.
![How Greed Got Good Again](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1797043/NXsN_InXP1723918682676/HOW-GREED-GOT-GOOD-AGAIN.jpg)
How Greed Got Good Again
In HBO's Industry, Gen Z reveals itself to be just as moneyobsessed as the corporate raiders of Wall Street.
![My Mother the Revolutionary](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1797043/DfSj4MnJo1723917906573/MY-MOTHER-THE-REVOLUTIONARY.jpg)
My Mother the Revolutionary
She cared about saving the world more than she cared about me.
![HOW M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1797043/v6GFhKAw71723917376695/HOW-M-NIGHT-SHYAMALAN-CAME-BACK-FROM-THE-DEAD.jpg)
HOW M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD
The filmmaker weathered some of the wildest hype and harshest backlash that Hollywood has to offer. Then he found a different path.
![SEVENTY MILES IN THE DARIÉN GAP](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1797043/xzuENw_H_1723915425776/SEVENTY-MILES-IN-THE-DARIN-GAP.jpg)
SEVENTY MILES IN THE DARIÉN GAP
The impossible path to America
![AMERICAN FURY](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1797043/HVYQNMbNQ1723915193715/AMERICAN-FURY.jpg)
AMERICAN FURY
For years, experts have warned of a wave of political violence. We should prepare for things to get worse before they get better.
!['LORD, HELP US MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN'](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1797043/kaB-Y2ljg1723914834561/LORD-HELP-US-MAKE-AMERICA-GREAT-AGAIN.jpg)
'LORD, HELP US MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN'
A close reading of Trump-rally prayers