Bushfire Update (April 09)
George came into care with very burnt feet, grooves burnt into his back from burning embers and singed ears. Found between Buxton and Marysville he was alone and wandering along a country road looking forlorn and very dehydrated. His burnt feet have been faithfully bandaged daily until they recovered but George now waits a sadder outcome - his eyes have been compromised by the extreme heat he encountered and is waiting for another trip to the All Animal Eye specialists to check the cataracts that have developed from the bushfires.
Ianna, a young female koala found in the Taggerty blue gum plantations suffered severe smoke inhalation. She is well on the way to a full recovery and will be returned to the wild when she is a mature age.
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| GEORGE | Sandice (Taggerty General Store Owner) and IANNA |
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| RIVER | CLAIRE |
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| DAVE |
River, a beautiful female adult koala came from Little River Road
in Taggerty. She sat alone at the base of a ninety five foot tree
waiting for rescue as she had such severely burnt feet that she
could no longer climb. After the loss of many toenails on her burnt
feet she has finally had her bandages removed and has begun to climb
the inside tree at our Frankston Animal shelter.
Claire, a young six month old wombat with severe burns to the back of her neck feet and back has also recovered with only a few signs (some psychological) of her burns. As soon as Claire tops the scales at ten kilos she will move to Kingbilli Wildlife refuge in Taggerty for preparations toward release. Dave the wombat also came from Paradise Plains road in Marysville however Dave was lucky enough to only have smoke inhalation, although he has been orphaned.
Many of our dedicated members searched day and night in conjunction and at the request of Wildlife Victoria, a rollercoaster ride of emotions ensued for many of our team after seeing the personal tragedy of fellow Aussies in need. Our heartfelt thanks go to the communities who welcomed and thanked us for rescuing their wildlife. Many days we were greeted by locals at the end of the day waiting to see if we had found an animal after exhaustive searching. Some days we came in with one or more, other days empty handed, which for the locals and our rescuers was devastating.
Donations from the Australian community have been outstanding. Our
wildlife endure habitat loss and disaster on a daily basis, we as
humans are the only ones who can make a difference. With your
continued help we can carry on the fight.