Wildlife wonders | PETS
http://www.facebook.com/petsmagazine August 29
Daly, birds and mammals keeper from the
Australian Reptile Park, says. “In this case, the
best thing to do is to check the pouch, remove
the joey and keep it warm inside a jumper,
beanie or anywhere warm, dry, soft and quiet.
Baby animals need specialist care so you should
call a wildlife organisation or zoo (eg Wildlife
ARC, WIRES or the Australian Reptile Park) and
they will take over care of the joey.”
It can be tempting to want to feed or off er
a drink to the baby animal you have found,
but this is not a great idea unless instructed to
do so by the wildlife professional you contact.
“Most people want to feed the joeys they fi nd
milk, but cow milk can actually make Australian
animals very sick. The best thing to do is not
give the joey anything, but get it into care as
soon as possible.”
And if you do happen to fi nd an animal that
is injured but alive or causing problems with
traffi c, Andrew recommends calling the police
as well as your local wildlife organisation to
help keep everyone safe.SAFETY FIRST
Before approaching any injured wildlife, it’s
important to consider your own safety and
wellbeing. “If you’re helping an animal on the
side of the road, it is really important to make
sure that you are well off the road and out of
the way of traffi c — putting the hazard lights
on your car after you pull over is a good way of
letting traffi c know that you’re there and to slow
down,” Andrew says.
It’s vital you check that the animal you’re
off ering assistance to is also not going to harm
you. WIRES recommends that potential rescuers
do not approach large macropods (kangaroos
or wallabies), bats (fl ying foxes or micro-bats),
monitor lizards (goannas), raptors (eagles,
falcons or hawks) and, of course, snakes. “Snakesare always best left to professionals. Again, your
personal safety is priority number one. It is very
easy to misidentify Australian snakes, so a snake
you might think is harmless may actually be very
dangerous,” Andrew says. “That’s where trained
professionals come in. They’re trained to identify
snakes correctly and to handle them safely. You
can fi nd the names and contact numbers of your
local snake catchers in the Yellow Pages.”
If after assessing the situation you conclude that
it is safe to approach the animal, it’s recommended
that you still keep your personal wellbeing as a
priority. “Wearing gloves when touching animals
and washing your hands thoroughly afterwards is
an important step to make sure you don’t pick up
any diseases,” Andrew says.
Before getting in contact with the animal,
PETS recommends calling your local wildlife
professional or vet for their advice on approaching
it. WIRES recommends gently wrapping the animal
in a towel and containing the animal in a quiet
dark space (eg a ventilated box with a lid) for
transport to your nearest rescue professional.Numbers to knowNumbers to know
Found an injured wild animal?
Here are some handy numbers
you might need:
Wildlife Victoria
1300 094 535
Fauna Rescue SA
(08) 8289 0896
Wildcare NT
(08) 8988 6121
Native Animal Rescue (WA)
(08) 9249 3434
Bonorong Wildlife Rescue (Tas)
0447 264 625
Wildlife ARC (NSW)
(02) 4325 0666
WIRES (NSW)
1300 094 737
Australian Reptile Park (NSW)
(02) 4340 1022
And don’t forget your local vet is
always a handy resource.TECH ASSISTANCE
In New South Wales? Download the
WIRES rescue app to your phone
for rescue advice and to report an
animal in need of assistance.PLF070_pg028-029_Rescue Rangers.indd 29PLF070_pg028-029_Rescue Rangers.indd 29 6/19/2017 2:39:27 PM6/19/2017 2:39:27 PM