We are so happy. After almost a year, Mikey has returned for a visit. He was released with 2 other males, Ofrey and Sven last year after coming here as an injured joey in 2020. We were not sure if he was still alive, as many don't make it.
He's in great health and so strong and wild. We hope he stays around for a while to teach the younger males here to be strong and survive. Life's not always long for male kangaroos.
We rescued Nellie about a week after the fires. A small mob of survivors were in a neighbours paddock on the only area untouched by the fires. Nellie was with about 5 other joeys, all about her age and all had lost their mums in the fires. There were a few juvenile males in the mob, as well as 1 or 2 larger males. Hardly any adult females though. I could hear foxes screaming to each other in the surrounding forest - they were stalking the joeys! The team rescued 4 or 5 kangaroos and wallabies that night and they were brought back to the sanctuary for treatment. Unfortunately, the darters had to return home the next day, and we were not able to get any more darters to come here. For the next 6 weeks we went searching for that mob every day and night and rescued more. Distressingly, I never saw those joeys again - I don't want to think about what happened to them. If only we had more support when HuHaNZ left!
Nellie's burns were quite severe, mainly to her feet, but she did have a small burn on her hand too. The wonderful HuHaNZ organised vets that were here, did a fantastic job treating her burns and she made a great recovery. It's frustrating to think that after HUHA left, there were calls for her to be euthanised. We refused to let that happen and now Nellie has grown to be a healthy and happy kangaroo living free and enjoying her 2 joeys, Bobby and Kenny.
To all those who helped Nellie (you know who you are), a very big thank you!
Just in time for the winter snow.
They seem to love these little shelters, which is great, as they are so cheap and quick to build.
Yet another wombat and her joey hit and left in the middle of the road. Thats a dead mum and joey every few days just on that one road!
A few days ago, driving through a national park, we came across a female wombat that had been hit by a vehicle. She was left where she was hit - in the middle of the road. She had a little joey! We rescued her joey just in time as there was a fox stalking nearby.
Please stop and check the pouch.
The rains stopped and the suns out - time to look for our released kangas and wallabies.
The forest covers thousands of hectares, but I know their favourite spots.
Today 2 years ago, HUHA New Zealand, led by the amazing Carolyn Press Mckenzie with her team of volunteers, crossed the Tasman and arrived at our sanctuary to help save the survivors of the devastating black summer bushfires.
HUHA didnt just help at our sanctuary, they helped many wildlife sanctuary's struggling throughout that time, as well as the LAOKO wildlife triage centre in Cooma. HUHA helped us and the survivors of the fires here when no one else would - we will always be grateful.
Here is a short video of the help HUHA provided us and the affects bushfires have on our wildlife and their habitat.
WARNING IMAGES OF DECEASED WILDLIFE
It took almost a year to organise and 3 months to build - its now here. A heartfelt thanks to Humane Society International Australia for providing all of the funding. HSI are truly an amazing organisation and without their continued support after the fires, we would not have been able to continue to help our wildlife. And thanks Dee and Jodie, for their fantastic work making this a reality.
Mikey's mum was hit and killed by a truck. He was thrown from his mums pouch onto the road. He was lucky to survive, but sustained a fracture to his Pelvis. After many months of care, he has now recovered and can enjoy time with our mob. Grow big Mikey!
Life is slowly returning after the bushfires that devestated our sanctuary.
When the fires burnt through our wildlife sanctuary this year, a small but dedicated group from New Zealand came to the rescue. They are HUHANZ (Helping you help Animals) and led by the amazing Carolyn Press Mckenzie. The latest episode of Country Calender aired on New Zealand TV last Sunday showcasing the incredible work they did here and continue to do in their homeland. For those of us outside New Zealand, we can now watch it on YouTube. Thanks HUHANZ, keep up the great work.
The ABC news have aired a report about our struggle to get help for the injured wildlife we rescued after the bushfire.
A few nights ago on one of our searches for wildlife that may be still injured after the recent bushfires, we rescued this tiny Redneck Wallaby Joey after her mother was killed by a vehicle. She weighed just 170grams and her eyes were still closed. She needed feeding every 3 hours and had to be kept at a constant temperature. You never know what injuries joeys suffer from the impact of a vehicle and her chances of survival were very low. Sadly she died after 4 days of care. RIP little one, it’s a shame some drivers don’t take more care when driving through a national park at night.
One week after the bushfire we finally received assistance to help treat the bushfire survivors we had rescued. The desperately needed help came from New Zealand.
Thanks HUHANZ, you saved many of our precious wildlife.
For the first week after the fires, we concentrated on searching within the wildlife sanctuary and surrounding forest. After help arrived a week later, we extended the search to neighbouring farmland.
Arthur was badly burnt in the the February 2020 bushfires that devastated our wildlife sanctuary. After several weeks of treatment, he was released back into the wild. Have a great life Arthur.
Little Eli the Eastern Grey Kangaroo Joey, was rescued from the nearby fire grounds in far south New South Wales, Australia. Luckily she was uninjured and is now being hand raised in our wildlife sanctuary.
A few days before the bushfires burnt through our wild life sanctuary, our kangaroos and wallabies were confused and afraid. Sadly, there was noting we could do to keep them safe - just distract them from the horrors ahead with their favourite food.
Our Wildlife Sanctuary - In the middle of nowhere.
This Drone footage was taken in 2018. The forest looks very different now after the mega bushfires of 2020. Only a lucky few survived and those that did suffered burns that needed months of treatment. Sadly the animals in this footage all perished.
Marky was an Eastern Grey Kangaroo who was rescued as a tiny joey in 2015. He grew to be a big strong buck, but sadly we lost him 2019. He had recently recovered from Lumpy Jaw, a bone disease that is caused by bacteria, but had become ill again. RIP Marky, you will be missed.
Driving home through the National Park late last night, we came across a female wombat lying in the middle of the road. She had just been killed by a vehicle. On checking her pouch, I saw that she had a joey inside. Lucky for him he was uninjured. Whoever killed his mother never stopped, they just kept on driving. It got down to -3C last night, so he would have died cold and alone, or worse, dragged out and eaten alive by a feral fox. I had to cut open his mums pouch to get him out, but he's ok and now being looked after by a wombat rehabilitator.
Our 5 little joeys out for a hop. 2018
Introducing our 5 little girls. Winnie, Suzie, Tilly, Candy and Evie.
All orphaned joeys around the same age. They love running around the paddock.
Happy times with our hand raised Eastern Grey Kangaroos and joeys. They were all once injured or orphaned, but now have a new safe home to live in.