Rehabilitate Wallabies & Other Native Wildlife

We have been very busy with 16,000 animals rescued by Sydney Wildlife volunteers this year. 

As a result of Australia’s COVID lockdowns, our lovely corporate volunteers were not able to run working bees at the rehabilitation facility for the majority of the year which meant a lot of extra work for the Sydney Wildlife volunteers. 

On top of this, we have not had as many donations as last year either but have still managed to continue to provide great care to all our wildlife we rescue.

The rehabilitation facility has been extremely busy, especially with birds and wallabies now that it is spring.  As people are slowly heading back to the workplace, we have seen an increase of injured wildlife especially on the roads.

This cute little Feathertail glider came into care over 3 weeks ago after Travis, one of our members son, found some leaves in a dead tree that had fallen and needed cutting up. Lucky for "Lucy", our little girl glider, Travis saw the leaves and gently pulled them out of the hollow finding a little pink thing which he put in his hand and took a photo to ask him mum if it was a native animal.

Once it had been collected by a Sydney Wildlife volunteer, it was brought to Joan to hand raise.  Joan had never cared for one this small before, only 1 gm, and at the time, was not sure if it was a Feathertail Glider or a Pygmy Possum.  It required two hourly feeds when first in care but she has now grown and her patagium for gliding has developed confirming that she is a Feathertail Glider.

Lucy still has a long way to go but hopefully she will grow up to be a big (10gm) Feathertail Glider that can go into our rehabilitation facility prior to release.

Please make sure if you do have trees you have to cut up, check for any living creatures first as lots of Australian animals big and small use trees for nesting.

If you find any native wildlife call Sydney Wildlife Rescue 94134300

We hope you have stayed healthy during COVID and that you and your families will have a Christmas full of love and a happy and healthy 2022.

We cannot do the work we do saving lives without your wonderful donations, thank you for your continued support this year.

Regards Joan

Angiostrongyliasis 

A big word with big ramifications for small animals.

Angiostrongyliasis is a disease caused by a parasitic lungworm which belongs to the nematode (roundworm) family. It is believed to have arrived in Australia via an introduced rat species.

The adult worms are found in rats which then excrete the parasite’s larvae in their faeces. When snails or slugs come into contact with the infected rat faeces, they become infected. Wildlife such as tawny frogmouths, kookaburras and blue-tongued lizards eat the snails or slugs and – without treatment – they will die from the disease.

It is a difficult disease to diagnose and often we can only look for clinical signs such as ataxia (abnormal gait), muscle wasting and ascending paresis (rapid paralysis moving upwards from the legs). Sometimes it is only possible to confirm the disease post mortem.

In tawny frogmouths the most common presentation of an affected individual is the inability to clench its feet and falling forward onto its head with wings splayed. We also test their ‘righting reflex’ which involves placing the bird on its back and seeing if it can right itself.

This tawny was rescued by John and Kylie who were walking their dog, Jay. He was ‘sniffed out’ by Jay as he lay helplessly on the ground.

They rushed him to Mona Vale Veterinary Hospital where Dr Rikki examined him and began treatment straight away. He was then transferred to us and our Sydney Wildlife Rescue veterinary team for ongoing treatment and care. A combination of 3 different medications used over a period of 4 weeks saw this tawny frogmouth go from moribund to mettlesome! After the 3rd phase of the treatment plan (which was administered to ensure that he didn’t suffer a relapse) he spent some time in our Sydney Wildlife Rescue Rehabilitation Facility to re-build his muscle strength and ensure that he was ‘match-fit’ for his return to the wild. Thanks to the wonderful volunteers at the facility for taking care of all his needs.

We provide free treatment to injured and sick wildlife. 

We can only do this with your support and donations towards our rehabilitation facility.  Thank you for contributing to help our wonderful wildlife.