Miss Wilson, rescued from Wilsons Prom fire grounds Feb 2009 by WRAP members. She is still in care at SAWS (Jan 2010).
Image: Heather Tagliabue
Source: Southern Ash Wildlife Shelter
Saving injured wildlife
Hundreds of specially trained volunteers work to rescue and care for injured wildlife - victims of road trauma, bushfires, human abuse, oil spills and attack from domestic or feral animals. 340 licensed wildlife shelters operate in Victoria to care for sick, injured and orphaned native animals, and another 360 foster wildlife carers are licensed in Victoria.
Miss Wilson, rescued from Wilsons Prom fire grounds Feb 2009 by WRAP members. She is still in care at SAWS (Jan 2010).
Photo: Heather Tagliabue / Source: Southern Ash Wildlife Shelter
There are strict guidelines, protocols and registration requirements to work with wildlife. In Victoria, wildlife rescuers, handlers and shelters must be licensed by the Department of Sustainability and Environment.
Sam the Koala was rescued by the Wildlife Rescue and Protection (WRAP) and cared for at the Southern Ash Wildlife Shelter (SAWS).
Wildlife Rescue and Protection (WRAP) is a Gippsland based self-funded, volunteer-based, not-for-profit organisation whose members consist of Gippsland rescuers, wildlife carers and interested parties Victoria wide.
Southern Ash Wildlife Shelter (SAWS) was started in 1994 by Colleen Wood in Rawson, Gippsland. SAWS cares for and rehabilitates injured, sick and orphaned native wildlife specialising in koalas and enables successful release back to suitable habitats. Most of the work of SAWS is based on the needs of the Gippsland region, but they are one of only a few shelters that specialise expertise in burns injuries and accepts difficult koala and fire victims from across Victoria.
Impact of the 2009 bushfires
Over 430,000 hectares, including 70 national parks and reserves, were burnt during the 2009 bushfires. Unknown numbers of wildlife died or were injured.
Hundreds of people, including many trained volunteers, were involved in rescuing and caring for injured wildlife during these bushfires.
Burns victims started to arrive at SAWS a week prior to Black Saturday. The Boolarra bushfires began on 28th January and by Saturday 7th February, there were already ten burns victims receiving treatment at SAWS who had joined the 14 koalas already in care. The famous Sam arrived on Sunday 8th February.
Dr. John Butler of Animal Clinic Morwell and WRAP and Badger rescuers triage a Koala. February 17th 2009.
Photo: Andrea Brumley / Source: DSE
Sam was one of 120 fire-injured native animals cared for by the Southern Ash Wildlife Shelter following the 2009 bushfires - 101 koalas, and 19 other wildlife, including possums, gliders, echidnas, wombats, birds and a tortoise. Of the koalas, 67 fully recovered and were released. This represented a 90% survival rate. A further ten were still being cared for in December 2009.
Bushfires were active in Gippsland for over 6 weeks with animals being searched for and rescued for 10 weeks. The volunteers caring for injured koalas at SAWS were extremely busy with the unprecedented number of burn victims; they also had the additional trauma of managing the ongoing daily stress of the fires. The wildlife shelter was under high alert for many weeks and some of the wildlife volunteers (including the vet) lost their homes to the fires.
Contacts for wildlife emergency
If you find injured or orphaned native wildlife call one of the following emergency phone numbers. If safe to do so, place animal in a cardboard box. Keep the area warm, dark and quiet and ensure pets and children are kept well away. Do not attempt to feed. You may also contact your local DSE office or take to local vet.
Emergency phone numbers for injured wildlife:
- 1300 BADGAR
- Help for Wildlife: 0417 380 687
- 13 RACV (13 7228)
- Wildlife Victoria: 13 000 WILDLIFE (13 000 94534)