SLOWDOWN - WALLABIES FATALITIES RISING

By SARAH WATERS

TWEED Valley Wildlife

Carers are urging motorists to slow down following a spate of wallaby callouts they attended last week, including two at Koala Beach estate in Pottsville.

Macropod co-ordinator

Corrina Lever said wildlife carers attended five separate call outs on May 9, which involved wallabies being struck by motorists and left to die on the side of the road.

The following day, two more incidents of wallabies being hit by traffic were attended by carers.

All seven of the wallabies were killed when they were struck or died as a result of their injuries.

Three of them had joeys in their pouch that needed to be euthanised.

“This is the worst amount we’ve had in a 24-hour period,” Mrs Lever said.

“We’ve never had five in one day that was just ridiculous and then two the next day.

“Not one of the callouts did we have any good news.

“Two of them were at the Koala Beach area in Pottsville which we’re surprised about, because it’s meant to be an environmental area.”

Mrs Lever said between May and August, as winter comes in and the grass gets shorter, wallabies do move closer to the edge of the road, searching for more grass to eat.

Typically, during winter Tweed wildlife carers can attend up to one callout a week, involving a struck wallaby, but during the rest of the year they’d only go to one or two callouts a month.

And, while motorists can accidentally hit wildlife at any time when they’re driving, Mrs Lever said it’s about being aware and doing the right thing if you do hit an animal.

“Slowing down does help, you might get a better chance to see them, but the biggest thing about this is very little people stop,” she said.

“If you hit a wallaby, you would know you’ve hit it.

“Acknowledging that you’ve hit something and checking it is just paramount.

“Leaving something to die is just really sad and most of the people who report the animals are not the people who hit them.

“It’s other people who have gone past and seen the animal move and I think that’s the saddest part.

“It is an awful sight to see sometimes, but to leave something on the side of the road with such horrific injuries is just beyond belief really.”

Mrs Lever said a lot of people who hit an animal, don’t want to touch itand check its pouch, but she insists members of the public need to phone their local wildlife carer groups, who can immediately attend to it.

“We get up at all hours of the night.

“And if they can be rehabilitated, after a vet check, they can be in our care for 12 months, depending on the size of them when they come in.”

If you accidentally collide with a wallaby, please call Tweed Valley Wildlife Carers Hotline on 0266724789 which is open 24/7.

Members of the public are advised to get an injured animal off the road - if they are able - to avoid it being struck again.

Placing a towel or blanket over its head, so it can’t see anything, will help to calm it down.

If you come across a deceased wallaby, checking the pouch for young can make all the difference.