Care of injured animals
Spring seemed to lay in waiting here at Bohollow as each year the breeding season for our native birds has begun earlier and earlier. In recent years, babes were coming in during winter of species that we wouldn’t usually see until the end of August or in September. Last year and this year things seem to have returned to times gone by as it’s been quiet for baby birds until the last few weeks. It has still been usually quiet for this time of year but I will not utter those words too loudly, lest I jinx myself!
You may have noticed the increase of wildlife casualties on our roads recently, particularly birds. I urge people to slow down, be vigilant, particularly in treed areas as this is the time of year many babes are beginning to emerge from their nests as well as falling out prematurely and ending up on our roads. Adult birds are also so intent on nest building and tending to young that all road sense seems to go out the window. Take it easy, use your horn and if it’s safe to do so, avoid hitting our wildlife.
Of course, sometimes it is impossible to avoid a collision with wildlife and when this does happen, there are a few things we can still do to help. First and utmost is...please STOP You may think that bird or possum you hit at a hundred kilometres per hour could not have survived the impact, so you keep driving. They can and they do.
One of the saddest things about attending cases that have been injured on our roads is that the majority of animals we are called to are found by people who are not the ones who hit them. This means that the majority of drivers who hit and injure wildlife just keep on driving. A bird with a broken wing may survive for a number of days before it succumbs to starvation or infection. A roo can last for weeks with broken legs. An animal who may be suffering from concussion and will recover in a few days is likely to get hit again and become severely injured or killed if left on a roadside. If it’s a large animal such as a roo or a wombat, an injured animal left on a roadside may actually cause someone else to have accident if it makes it back out onto the road. Even if the outcome is euthanasia, always stop and call for help. You can save an animal much pain and suffering and in a lot of cases, save their life by stopping and calling for help. If it is safe to do so, remove the animal from the road. A roo is not obviously a critter someone with no experience or equipment can bundle into their vehicle and get to a vet or wildlife shelter.
We attend these cases all the time, do not put yourself in danger by attempting to handle an animal that you know may be potentially dangerous. If the animal is dead, best practice is to remove it from the road, pulling it well off so other animals have less chance of being hit while feeding on the remains. If a marsupial like a roo, wombat or possum, check for a pouch and if it is female, check inside the pouch for young. Pouched young can live inside a dead mother’s pouch for days, depending on the weather. Animals such as koalas and possums can also have ‘back riders’. These are babes that are big enough to be out of pouch and cling to their mother’s backs or bellies. Pouched young can be tricky to extract as there is not much room in there! Scissors can actually be carefully used to cut the opening of pouch to make extraction a little easier. For obvious reasons, only use this method on a deceased animal! Injured birds can be safely contained by using a towel to place over it and pick up.
Keep in mind that an injured animal, this includes all birds, mammals and reptiles, may appear lifeless or unable to move..until you attempt to catch them. It is usual for an animal to use the last remaining strength it has to attempt to get away from us, even if it is severely injured.
Be mindful of traffic and other hazards, use your hazard lights when you are pulled up and plan your advance so if the critter does try to flee, it’s more likely to head away from the road rather than into it. There are a few really handy items you can easily keep in the boot of your vehicle in case you ever find injured or orphaned wildlife, having these items can make it a whole lot easier. A towel or two, even a blanket if you have the room. This makes catching an injured animal less stressful for both you and the critter. Critters can also be bundled or rolled up in these items for transport if you have nothing else to contain in. A pillow case for pouched young. Young can be safely transported in pillow cases until they get to a shelter where we have pouches specially made to keep these babes warm and safe while they are in our care. A flat packed cardboard box or if you have room, a pet carrier. Birds, reptiles and adult small mammals can all be contained in these for transport to a vet or wildlife shelter. Don’t forget to put a towel inside on the bottom for comfort and to stop the animal from sliding around during transport. Disposable gloves. These are handy when removing deceased animals from the road and also for checking pouches, particularly if you’re a little squeamish. A torch.
Always call for help. Keep your local wildlife rescue and shelter numbers handy. Our wildlife require specialised care and veterinary treatment. Don’t leave it for a day to see if the animal survives before calling. Our care may actually be able to help it survive, particularly for those first critical 48 hours. DO NOT FEED OR GIVE ANY WATER!! If we are unwell or have an accident, no paramedic on Earth will syringe water into your mouth or force feed you. This is often a death sentence for injured and orphaned wildlife. Just like a person who is injured and in shock, the priorities are making them safe and keeping them warm and quiet.
This also means refraining from allowing children to play with or cuddle them, this can be really stressful for wildlife. We will always advise on any appropriate care needed until the animal can reach the shelter. As a rescuer who gets called out to injured and orphaned wildlife 24/7, there are some things you can also do to help us out as well.
If you are unable to catch a critter or it is a dangerous animal to catch, contain or transport, such as a kangaroo, please take note of where the animal is. Pin drops on your phone which can be sent to us are great! Any nearby landmarks to describe where the animal is, road names, the nearest street address, all these are vital in saving us many hours of searching. We do search and when we have vague and non descript details, we can spend a long time searching in the wrong spot! These details are really important for us to be able to return territorial species to their homes.
I picked up a concussed Kookaburra from the Kyabram veterinary clinic recently. All the vets we work with know we need the location of where wildlife was found, both for our record keeping and for release sites. Most clinics now have a form they ask you to fill in for us. In this particular case, the member of public had filled in the location details as Curr Road. For any locals reading, you will know Curr road is an extremely long road which goes all the way from Stanhope back to the river at Yambuna!
If I were to release that bird even a couple of hundred metres outside its territory range, it is highly likely it will be beaten up and even killed by other resident Kookaburras. They may also have a mate and family awaiting their return. Location is important.
Transporting to one of our shelters, meeting us even halfway on the road or getting it to a veterinary clinic for us to pick up from can all help ease our load a little. Deb and I travel many miles for rescues and pick ups, this helps us a lot. If you can’t, we do come to you. Please be patient.
When the busy seasons hit us, we are still on the end of our busy season for kangaroo joeys, we truly are flat out. If we take a long time to get to you to pick something up, we are on our way, we may have several other rescues and pick ups to do on our way! If we sound exhausted, chances are high that we are. Above all, stay safe and always call for help. We understand how stressful it can be to come across injured and orphaned wildlife. Wildlife rescue is a team effort and it begins with the kind hearted people who stop to check, stop to help, stop to call. We will always talk you through and advise on any situation. Together, we can all make a difference.
