carersstories2

Tree loppers in Casino were removing a large, partly dead gum tree when they discovered a nest with two newly hatched chicks inside. They carefully cut the branch containing the nest and the homeowners, Joan and Daryl, called WIRES.

They are magpie chicks, but unfortunately the parents were scared away and have abandoned the nest.The nest has been built firmly in a bushy fork of the tree and would have survived even the strongest winds. It is woven with

grasses, sticks and even string and green whipper snipper cord.

The chicks are now being hand raised and have a good chance of survival.

Seen in 3rd image 1 week after coming in to care, both thriving in care.

Wildlife Rescue At Evans Head
WIRES recently received a call from Evans Head for an injured female Squirrel glider with two small babies on

board. It was suspected that the three had been scooped up by a raptor then dropped. Fortunately the adult female’s injuries were not serious and the threesome was taken into care. However, probably from the stress of the event, the mother squirrel glider stopped lactating and she abandoned her babies while they were still too young to survive alone. The two young, one male and one female, had to be quickly placed in a warmed

environment and be regularly fed with special wildlife milk formula to maximise their chances of survival. The mother glider was transferred to a rehabilitation aviary and will soon be released.
After going through a critical period, to our relief the two young began to stabilise, then gain weight and are now thriving in care. Each of the young weighs just over 30 grams and laps warmed formula from a small dish every three hours. They spend the time between meal breaks curled up together, asleep.
As you can imagine, they are the most delightful creatures to care for. Eventually they will be weaned onto their natural diet of insects, blossom and nectar and will be released.
Squirrel gliders are classified as a vulnerable species, so WIRES members feel especially triumphant when we rehabilitate and release any which come into care.

Maxeen found this juvenile Red-necked wallaby joey approximately 8 months old, swimming/drowning in her dam at Georgica.

A small boat was launched and after a few attempts the joey was rescued from the water and WIRES was contacted.

Katrina, a WIRES macropod carer received the joey in to care, and he was over the next 3 days treated for Myopathy, he responded well, and have since thrived in care.

He is seen here 4 weeks after his ordeal, now interacting well with other wallabies in care, enjoying his life in the safety of his enclosure untill such time as he is old enough to fend for himself. He will be in care for approximately 7 months. Many questions came to mind when this joey came in, he was very thin, and obviously had been alone for some time, he knew how to drink from a bottle, and did not seem frightened by people, in fact he was extremely friendly. This can mean a number of things, usually when a wild animal is friendly it means that it is very sick or injured, but in this case apart from

obviously being exhausted from trying to keep his head above the water, and being undernourished, he suffered no other injuries. We are fairly certain that this animal has been hand raised, and either escaped or who ever raised him did not realise how long a wallaby such as this would need to be in care and

receive formula in order to grow and develop.

Once again we are reminded of how important it is to know what you are doing when you have the responsibility of a small animal like this. PLEASE if you find an orphaned joey, call WIRES and let us bring it in to care. If you wish to help, join us, become a member, get the training needed and this way you can be assured of raising an animal fit for the wild when it is ready for release.

Once again thank you Maxeen, without your vigilance and quick thinking this animal would not have survived.

Jack found this Barn Owl chick at the bottom of a large tree with other chicks still in the nest hollow. It was very weak and underweight, but after feeding up on mice for 12 days, it left the substitute nest and was flying well. It was returned to Jacks property at Rock Valley.

Thank you Jack for calling WIRES, and for your generous donation helping us to carry on WIRES work..

Thank you once again to our local police for being vigilant and caring, you saved this animal from prolonged pain and suffering.

This Echidna was found by the Police, on her back next to the Pacific Hwy near Teven.
Her snout was badly broken in several places. This animal would be in extreme pain, in need of pain relief and veterinary intervention as soon as possible. The only way to ascertain how bad the injury is, is to have the animal x-rayed. This particular animal was taken to Currumbin Wildlife Hospital where she was X-rayed and consequently euthanased due to the severity of the

broken snout. This Echidna was also a lactating female and had left a puggle behind. Her abdomen showed signs of use by licking and the hairs were all finely groomed. The mammary patch was indeed in use. With no chance of finding the puggle we only hoped it was at dispersing stage ( this is the time they disperse-although we have found this varies from area to area) and could survive on its own. The police were notified and were keen to keep an eye out for any small echidna found wandering in the vicinity of where the Mum was found.
A sad story, we were able to end the suffering of this animal that could have survived for weeks, in severe pain, slowly starving to death as it was not able to eat with the broken snout.

Echidnas that have been injured by cars, dog attacks etc etc MUST be taken to a veterinary clinic and X-rayed, it is impossible to examine these animals properly without X-ray as you can not feel broken bones as in other animals due to the spines. Echidnas do however have a skeleton just like any other animal, and bones break just as easy in this species as in any other, difference is, we can not feel or see it without X-ray.

They may look just fine, move normally, as they will not show their injury. An injured animal knows it is in big trouble, and as such will hide their pain, trying to fool predators.

Thank you Belinda for calling WIRES when finding these very young Eastern Rosella Chicks in big trouble out of their nest. Unfortunately they were not able to be reunited with their parents, so was taken in to care with WIRES bird rehabilitator Kim at Ballina.

They were a mere 5 days old on arrival in to care, eyes still closed, and no feathers as yet.

Seen in image on left at 10 days old, starting to open their eyes, and starting to grow some feathers.

They will be released back to the wild when ready to fend for themselves shortly.

Thank you Belinda for giving these beautiful birds a second chance at life by calling WIRES.

Last December, this young duck followed Lucinda home from a small dam in Casino, walked into her apartment and happily hopped up onto her bed. He had obviously been hand reared, then for some inexplicable reason, all the feathers on one wing were cut short.

Shortly after he was taken in to care by WIRES.

He was buddied with a domestic Saxony duck and soon learnt how to be a duck, though he will need to stay in care until he moults and new flight feathers grow (otherwise he will be a sitting duck for any fox or predator that tries to eat him).

He is now in an aviary with three young ducks- one Pacific Black, one Plumed Whistling Duck and one Wood Duck. We are hoping he will pair up with the Wood duck and they will eventually be released together.

WIRES received a call from Louise at Casino Vet Clinic to let us know that a member of the public had seen

a Red-bellied black snake with its head caught in a Wild Turkey drink can.

It was quickly rescued and after receiving advice from Michael, Lib and Melanie proceeded with the delicate task of removing the can. Lib held the snake while Melanie cut the bottom off the can to establish how much of the snake was inside. Luckily it was a large snake and only its head was

trapped, thus reducing its movement. The can was then carefully removed a piece at a time. Its head and neck were very swollen and bruised, so it was taken to Michael for assessment, then on to Tony our venomous snake rehabber.

This snake would have suffered a slow and painful death had it not been rescued, and is yet another reminder of why we should not thoughtlessly litter.

To read more on how rubbish may affect our wildlife click here.

UPDATE:

Red-bellied black snake has recovered, and is seen here being released back to the wild.

WIRES received in to care 12 Pacific Black ducklings from 2 separate rescues in 2 days.

The first 6 ducklings were found by Pauline at Casino, who noticed mother duck and 6 ducklings in her yard behind the high fence and unable to get out. She locked up her dog and opened the gate but mum flew off. It was dark and luckily she and her daughter were able to catch all little ducklings. Mother duck did not come back.

The next 6 ducklings were found the next day a few blocks away. They were found by Mardy, all on their own with no mum and calling desperately. She caught 2 and the elderly man across the road was able to catch the other 4 when they ended up in his yard.

Every year we have ducklings in trouble in this part of town as the mother ducks must nest near the river bank then once the ducklings hatch make their way through the edge of town and across a busy road to the wetlands. Making their way through the maze of fenced yards, cars and dogs must be a terrifying ordeal.

Another ducking was found some time after the others, most likely from the same batch of Ducklings, it unfortunately died overnight. Ducks do not do very well on their own, they need others of their own kind to thrive. If finding native ducks orphaned, please call WIRES immediately, do not put them in water and do not try to raise them yourself.

. Thank you Mardy and Pauline for calling WIRES.

UPDATE APRIL 2008

Ducklings have grown up, seen here just before being taken to release site..

Not all ducklings need to come in to care, many can be reunited with mum, as in this case:

Lifeline in Byron Bay called WIRES carer Judith that 10 ducklings were near Woolworth's at Byron Bay. As you can imagine this is a very busy place, and certainly not a place for tiny ducklings. Judith preformed a pied piper feat, after fending off tourists and other various spectators, contained all 10 ducklings in a basket, mum landed and followed her and the basket slowly thru the streets, after about 2 or so hours, Judith lead them down to a creek and they promptly jumped in and were all successfully reunited.

Thank you Stuart for calling WIRES, the little wallaby joey is a Red-Necked wallaby. She does not have any injuries as such but was of course in shock due to the car accident.

She is approximately five and a half months old and will be in care for about 8 months, being cared for with a number of other joey's of similar stage of development. Being in the company of other wallabies throughout her time in care ensures that she will not become humanized, her needs are met, but her instinct will stay wild, and she is not lonely.

Our little orphan is now starting to feel secure in her new environment, seen here having a stretch out of her pouch.

She is now in an outside enclosure, with other joey's of similar stage of development.

Her substitute pouch is her security, and she spends her time mainly within her pouch, looking at the world, learning what she needs to know from other joey's in care. As carers we can teach them little, we can ensure correct diet, housing and care, but only other Macropod's can teach them what is acceptable, such as behavior and interaction in their world.

Our little joey is growing up, now choosing not to have contact with her carer apart from when a bottle is offered it is taken at arms

length, then she hops off again and looks back to ensure she is not to close. She has bonded strongly with a male same stage of development and they will be released together when he time comes.

Thank you to Kyogle police for calling WIRES when a member of the public brought in this little orphaned wallaby joey.

Interesting fact is that in just 14 years this species has gone from abundant and common to now being a threatened species, all due to human activity, such as land clearing and shooting.

This little orphan will be in care for many months then released back in the area he was found. Unfortunately only very few pockets of land is now left where this species still exist.

Our little orphan is growing up, seen here 9 weeks after arrival in to care, now at ease with other joey's in care.

Black Stripe will be taken back to Malanganee where this specie is still found, when old enough to fend for himself.

WIRES NR would like to thanks Kyogle NPWS for their assistance with finding suitable release location for this animal.

Thank you Evan for calling WIRES, this little Mountain Brushtail possum is doing fine in care with WIRES, she will shortly be in the company of another Mountain Brushtail female, the same age as her.They will grow up together and be released in time back to the wild.

This 4 months old Platypus is a victim of recent floods in Northern NSW. She was found on the banks of a river curled up in to a little ball by Diane and Steve going for a walk early in the morning on their property. They called WIRES immediately and this little

Platypus was brought in to care.

She would still be dependant on her Mum for quite some time yet, learning to eat solid food whilst still suckling from her mum.

She does not have any injuries, but is very debilitated due to most likely having been washed out of her burrow by the flood waters when the river rose, this may have been some time ago and since then she would have tried to feed by herself, but needing the nutrient from mum, she became debilitated.

We hope in time to release her back on Diane and Steve's property as long as all goes well for our little orphan.

UPDATE: Platypus did not survive, she died 3 weeks after arrival, due to an infection picked up from the flood waters when she was orphaned..

Seeing a dead marsupial on the road whilst driving, should make anyone stop and check if it is a female and if so does she have a live joey in the pouch. Nan and Hugh did just that, and rescued a very young Red-Legged Pademelon joey very much alive in his dead mum's pouch. Mum had been hit by a motor vehicle some time during the night, whoever hit mum did not bother to stop. The tiny joey was going cold, life slowly slipping away. Thanks to Nan and Hugh that stopped, retrieved the joey from mums pouch, also gave the little joey warmth, and called WIRES immediately, this little fellow now has a second chance at life.

He was only 111 gram when he arrived, had only just opened his eyes, no fur yet, certainly an intensive care case.

He was taken in to care by WIRES intensive care specialist Leoni, where he is fed every two and half hours around the clock untill such time as he is out of the danger zone, being so tiny he is still an immature animal, would be attached and feeding from mums teat on a constant basis.

Seen in images above 2 weeks after arrival in to care, now 161 gram. Still extremely young, and intensive care is still needed for some time yet.

Our little orphan is growing up, now in an outside enclosure, spending the day still in his pouch, very interested in the world around him, watching other wallabies in care.

Pademelon is now spending much time out of his pouch, eating solids, interacting with other wallabies in care.

Our little Red-legged Pademelon was released in late July 2008 on Nan and Hugh's property very close to where he had been rescued back in February.. He is seen in this image about 1 months before his release.

Sally has watched this Mountain Brushtail possum for some time, enjoying seeing him come and go, living in the bush she is lucky to have animals such as this living in close proximity.

When she saw he had been injured, she called WIRES for help. Katy and Rick both experienced WIRES carers, arrived to see the possum sheltering on a beam of Sally's verandah, and after discussion on how best to get him down, Katy and Rick eventually managed to catch him even though he was not all that agreeable to being taken in to care.

He was taken to Billynudgel vet clinic, where he was treated for extensive injuries to his lower back and tail. How he had been injured we will most likely never know, but the most likely cause is he had been in a fight with another possum.

He was taken in to care by Sue, put on antibiotics for 7 days, and now after 10 days in care his wounds are looking better, he will still be in care for some time, then taken back to Sally's property, where he will be given his very own possum box to call home.

Mountain Brushtail possums are extremely territorial, as habitat shrinks these animals fight for trees with hollows, roof cavity or anything else remotely looking like what used to be easy to find in the Australian landscape, an old hollow tree.

Thank you Sally for reacting, and for being willing to help this possum on his return back home.

UPDATE: Unfortunately possum had to euthanased due to a secondary infection 15 days after first arriving in to care.

These two little orphaned Ringtail possums were called in to WIRES emergency hotline after mum had been attacked and killed by a cat.

The two little orphans were cared for initially by WIRES carer Christina, and when they were big enough for a large aviary they were transferred to WIRES carer Alison.

They are now almost ready to be soft released and return to their life in the wild.

Recent rain caused a large tree to fall over in Broadwater which unfortunately contained a nest hollow with

three Kookaburra hatchlings inside. Amanda and Mel discovered two dead chicks and one survivor, and called WIRES. The naked chick had its' eyes still closed and was approximately 4-5 days old.

He is growing well and after one week his eyes are beginning to open and the spiky pin feathers are sprouting. He feels safe in his substitute nest box and is being fed every hour or so during the day.

Kookaburra chicks develop a pecking order within the nest as soon as they hatch and can be very aggressive when hungry. They make a loud high pitched grumbling noise almost constantly during the day. Thanks to Bess who rescued him, and to Lib who took over phone roster so Bess could meet me. I have nicknamed him "Chicken" for obvious reasons!

UPDATE:

Kookaburra named Chicken, seen here all grown up, just before release learning how to catch food, and then on the right finally released back to the wild.

UPDATE March 2008

Kookaburra is now self feeding as seen in this image. He is back in the bush, doing what comes naturally when you are a Kookaburra, seen here eating a frog.

Over the Christmas period, I took a 9 day bat holiday at the Tolga Bat Hospital in the Atherton Tablelands near Cairns. There were

400 spectacled flying foxes in care, most affected by tick paralysis. Spectacled flying foxes are only found in North Queensland, so it was a novelty to work with this different species. It was hard work from first light until bed-time every day, but very interesting working with other experienced bat carers. Caring for that large number of bats is a huge operation, and different strategies have to be used to manage

it all. Tasks included cleaning aviary floors, putting milk out for the orphans, replenishing water (fresh and salt), and before dark we had to put up the night time food of apples, watermelon, banana, banana smoothy and occasionally mulberry leaves. We also had to treat injuries, as well as weigh and measure the bats, recording details according to their microchip numbers.

Carers stories January 2008 -

On this page we will keep you informed about animals that you have brought in to care with WIRES Northern Rivers branch. If you would like to know about a particular animal, please email us, and we will do what we can to keep you up to date.