Wildlife Rescue

News source: Adore Magazine, Issue 05, December - January 2007
By Briar Jensen

Summer is a precarious time for wildlife. Not only are they more active, but so are we – collisions with vehicles remain the number one cause of death and injury to wildlife in Australia. Networks of volunteers across the country are donating huge amounts of time and resources to care for injured wildlife, and as Briar Jensen discovered, from the numbers involved, it's apparent that Australians rate wildlife care as a top priority.

Lisa found all the right answers in a "rally around the homes" organised by Harcourts Burpengary/Narangba during the Christmas period. She won $500 and chose to donate it to the Wildlife Warriors.

"To release a bird or animal which, but for our help, would have died, is the biggest buzz," says Caroline Enfield from the Wildlife Information and Rescue Services (WIRES) in New South Wales. "Watching a bird soar or a possum scramble for the highest branches is a feeling like no other."

This may be the reason why thousands of people across the country – over 4,000 in New South Wales alone – volunteer to help and rehabilitate injured wildlife. Volunteers come from all walks of life and many join up after rescuing an animal from their own garden. Following an initial training course they can choose from a number of roles including rescue, care, transportation, answering telephones, even sewing pouches. Caroline says as well as reliability, flexibility and bucket loads of diplomacy, volunteers must understand the central concept in caring for wildlife.

"Volunteers provide temporary captive management of wild animals," says Caroline. "A good volunteer does not try to make a pet of the animal in care."

Liz Gibbons, an independent carer from Victoria, describes the role as "animal welfare", saying it's not always about hand-raising cute and cuddly wildlife; it includes difficult tasks like making decisions on euthanasia and relocating vulnerable – and often unwilling – animals.

Rehabilitation takes anywhere from a few days to many months depending on the breed, its age and injuries. Pouch young in particular require intensive care with temperature-controlled environments and feeding every two to four hours. As well as being demanding, it can be messy work, but the rewards are enormous.

"Seeing a koala go to the top of a gum tree, settle down, start to eat and feel comfortable with the environment – it's a real buzz," says Liz.

Over summer, volunteers are needed more than any other season. "Summer is always the busiest time for us, even without the unusually dry conditions," says Dr Rupert Baker from the Australian Wildlife Health Centre. The centre, in Healesville, Victoria, is a state-of-the-art facility that allows visitors the chance to see a working wildlife hospital in action.

In New South Wales it's a similar story. According to Carolyn in the WIRES Sydney office, "It is not unusual to receive well over 200 calls for help a day, covering just the metro area."

Breeding, nesting, dispersal and migration contribute to the increase in wildlife rescue over the warmer months. Vulnerable offspring can find themselves alone, either through the death of an adult, wild weather or natural dispersal. Extremely hot conditions can cause heat stress in some animals, while bushfires not only cause horrific injuries, they destroy essential food sources, leading to starvation. Continued habitat loss also brings wildlife ever closer to the suburbs where they are vulnerable to domestic animals and traffic.

Collision with vehicles is the biggest cause of injury and death to Australian wildlife, followed by predation from cats and dogs. Last year the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) received 4,421 vehicle insurance claims involving animal collisions. Warmer weather, together with longer days, sees more traffic on the roads, placing wildlife more at risk.

"For birds of prey in particular, it's a compounding problem, as they often feed off road kill in the middle of the road and become victims themselves," says Dr Baker. Sixty per cent of the animals seen at the Australian Wildlife Health Centre are birds.

So what happens to all these injured animals? Many go unreported, so their fate remains unknown. Some make it to the few dedicated facilities, such as the Australian Wildlife Health Centre or Steve Irwin's Australian Wildlife Hospital and Rescue Unit. The rest usually end up in the care of a loving volunteer from a wildlife organisation specialising in rescue, rehabilitation and release.

But while there are thousands of volunteers across the country, finding one can be difficult. Zoos Victoria found people were making six to eight phone calls before contacting an appropriate person. So this year, in collaboration with the RACV, the zoo established Wildlife Connect, a service linking Victorian motorists to wildlife rescue groups. By calling the RACV's emergency roadside assist umber, motorists can be connected to an organisation that will offer telephone assistance or collect the injured animal.

In Tasmania, the Injured and Orphaned Wildlife Program also offers a 24-hour number and coordinator Patsy Davies says they can quickly direct callers to a registered carer. In Queensland, the organisation to contact is the Australian Wildlife Hospital, and in New South Wales it's the WIRES Sydney Rescue Office or one of their branches.

Alternatively, you can search for a local organisation via Australian Fauna Care's online directory. Established by Steve Amesbury, himself a wildlife rescuer, it was set up in the aftermath of the 2000-01 bushfires, when even government departments and funding organisations had problems contacting care groups to offer assistance.