Issue 7 Wildlife Rescue Magazine

August 2013 Issue 7

Sugar gliders RESCUE, REHABILITATION AND RELEASE

Cameras in the field PART 3 www.wildliferescuemagazine.com

Rescue success stories ALBATROSS WOMBAT LITTLE RED FLYING FOX BLUE TONGUE LIZARD WEDGETAIL EAGLE August 2013

Issue 7

Publisher’s words Issue Seven is here and full of exciting articles.

Our five Success Stories are unique and wonderful and we are proud to be able to give all our contributors a copy of "Silly Baby Magpie" by Jill Morris - owner of Glider Productions who kindly donated each copy.

We announce the winner of the Photo Competition ANDREA RUSKE of NT. She won $100 worth of 'Burston Blue Teats'. Thank-you to Burston Blue Teats for contributing the prize. The owner of Burston Blue Teats is Glen Burston – he is our DIY GUY. He has another fabulous article in this issue – learn how to build a reptile enclosure – quick and easy!

We Congratulate FRANCES BODKIN of NSW - winner of the gorgeous Koala Gi-clee print - kindly donated by the artist - Geraldine Simmons.

Samantha Tro has contributed a prize for Subscribers: it is an amazing kangaroo print. Title: Dakota (Digitally hand painted) supplied on Canson Infinity Ediction Art Etching Rag Paper (size 12" x 16") All our subscribers go directly into the draw to win, and all our new Subscribers get a chance to win. Please Subscribe and support us (our subscribers will also receive a FREE COPY of our NEW 330 page book coming out soon).

I was delighted to be able finally do an article on a unique woman, her husband and her journey. I have admired her for a long time. Stella Reid from Wildhaven Wildlife Sanctuary.

“I hope that I was able to do your article justice Stella,” For more photos that I couldn't fit into the magazine you can view them on our website as well.

We are happy to have our Part Three of "Motion Activated

Wildlife Rescue Magazine Publisher/Advertising 0413 587 613 Email info@wildliferescuemagazine.com Website www.wildliferescuemagazine.com Wildlife Rescue Magazine is published six times per year.

Publisher Wildlife Rescue Magazine Phone: 0413 587 613 Website: www.wildliferescuemagazine.com Editor andrea@wildliferescuemagazine.com Andrea Devos Production Artizen Image Design, Brisbane, Queensland Advertising Wildlife Rescue Magazine Phone: 0413 587 613 Email advertising@wildliferescuemagazine.com Website: www.wildliferescuemagazine.com

Infra-red Cameras" in this issue of the magazine. This is our final part for this series. We thank all our contributors.

Our MAIN ARTICLE this issue is on SUGAR GLIDERS - we have some lovely photos to share with you and we truly hope you enjoy and can use the information provided. We would like to thank everyone who supplied photos and a special thank-you to Jodie Blackney who wrote this article for us.

As many of you already know we are bringing out a 330 page FULL COLOUR book on the last year’s feature articles of the Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release of Australian Wildlife - Reference Volume One. The book will be on: Bandicoots, Brushtail Possums, Ringtail Possums, Wombats, Tawny Frogmouth, Kookaburra, Microbats, Flying Fox/Megabat, Willy Wagtail, Plover /Lapwing.

All our Subscribers will get a FREE copy of this book - it will retail for $60 - save now by subscribing and get it FREE! We are still in need of some photos of these animals in care and some information.

What is an injury/illness that is most likely to occur to this animal? How can you pinpoint it? What are its signs? How can you treat it?

Photos and answers would be wonderful for these questions - we are short on photos for the bandicoot in care too please, so if you have any photos you can donate we would appreciate you sending them to us at wildliferescuemagazine@gmail.com We would like to thank everyone for their involvement in helping us keep this magazine informative and free.

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No part of this publication may be reproduced or reprinted in any form or by any means for Commercial Use without the prior written permission of the publisher. Copyright Act 1968 ©Wildlife Rescue Magazine 2013 If you have questions about the use of this magazine or would like to apply for permission to use articles from this magazine for commercial use, please contact: info@wildliferescuemagazine.com The intellectual rights in all new material vests in the author or creator of such material. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act, no part of this publication may be reproduced by any process, or any exclusive right exercised, without the written permission of Wildlife Rescue Magazine.

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The articles represent the view of the authors and the editorial represents the view of the editor.

Other opinions expressed in this journal are not necessarily those of the Editor or Wildlife Rescue Magazine.

Please note that the material presented in this online magazine has been prepared for the general information of the reader and should not be used or relied upon for specific applications without first securing competent advice. Wildlife Rescue Magazine, its members, authors, staff and consultants, do not represent or warrant its suitability for any general or specific use and assume no responsibility of any kind in connection with the information here in.

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Contents

August 2013 Issue 7

Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release

Sugar Gliders

Sarah’s accident

Wildhaven Wildlife Sanctuary

Bob Cleaver

p11

Little Red

Andrea Ruske

p87

Stumpi the Blue Tongue Lizard

Jodie Blackney

p20

A;an and Stella Reid p101

Dr Susan Roberts p96

Wildlife Research

Motion activated infrared cameras

G IY U

Y

D

Andrea Devos

p53

Albatross adventures

A struggling eagle family

Dr Richmond Loh p72

Fabricating a small holding enclosure Glen Burston p66 7

Maggie Harriman

p77

Classifieds

p131

Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release

Sarah’s accident

Bob Cleaver

11

Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release

Sarah’s accident I’m not sure how I should art this o or even how to put it into writing to express my feelings of horror, grief and depression. It is ju too painful to think about, but if I can, it may help me comes to terms with it. To be blunt, I thought I had killed Sarah!

I

that precise moment the front left hand side of the car gave a lurch. I stop instantly, got out to see what I had run over, but saw nothing.

t happened very late on a Thursday night (1st December 2005) on a return journey from Adelaide - 2.00am-ish to be precise. I should preface the next paragraph by saying that our driveway is about 700m in length (¾ km) and is frequented by an assortment of wildlife, especially at night.

I saw nothing before, during or after the lurch although Jan thought she saw something dash off into the darkness. Barrelbum was still standing watching us, as was Wombles. I then saw Chunky (another of our handraised wombats) looking at us from a distance as if to say “what’ve you got for me” but no sign of Sarah.

Needless to say, at that time of the night the last 700m home is a bit of a risky business and I am always extremely careful of what’s lurking in the shrubbery at the side of the track and especially that year as it has been a very wet one, so the growth on the trackside shrubbery had just gone berserk and was very dense.

My immediate thought was that I had run over her, but as I had not seen or heard anything, I could not be sure, even though I had that nasty sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Anyway, we had almost reached the house and, as usual I was driving at walking pace and saw two of our wombats (Barrelbum and Wombles) off to my right in the gloom of the extremities of my headlights and at

The following morning I checked the spot in daylight and only found a single scratch mark on the drive

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(from what could have been a front paw) and some fresh tracks to a warren entrance some distance away which looked like a wombat running at speed.

By the following Saturday I had not seen Sarah since the day before the event, which in itself is unusual, as she is usually the one animal who is out most often and always wanders up to you looking for a handout.

She is often spotted during the day sunning herself at a burrow entrance. I could not help but assume that I had run over her and she had taken off to the nearest burrow to die a miserable death from who knows what sort of horrific injuries. At the time I could not say for sure that it was Sarah, but not having seen her for two days is MOST unusual.

Sarah had this huge swelling

me feel better. Try and imagine if you had run over your favourite pet, how you would feel. The worst part was that not only did I think I had killed her but she had been carrying a baby in her pouch and Lord knows how that had fared.

You occasionally hear of these terrible accidents of parents who, through no fault of their own, reverse over a child in their driveway – I now know exactly how they feel.

If she had been mortally injured and was lying low somewhere I might have been able to take the joey and hand raise it if only I could find her. But at that stage I still didn’t even know if it was her – I had no evidence, apart from her disappearance.

Sarah was like family – correction Sarah is family! I would look out of the front room window where I would often see her lying about somewhere. Now all I could see was nothing! I had the feeling that I may have to live with this for the rest of my life and I was not sure how to cope with it! This may sound silly but I find talking to people about this sort of thing, difficult.

They say thirteen is unlucky for some – not for me.

Thirteen days after Sarah’s’ disappearance I went across to our wombat enclosures with four buckets in my hands, one for each feed dish. I emptied the first one into a dish and then stood up and turned around to walk to the next one and there was Sarah!!!!!

I have no-one to blame but myself and I thought perhaps that by putting it into writing, it might make

Standing quietly behind me!! I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry! As I turned she walked very slowly towards me and I could immediately see that she had lost a lot of weight and she had this enormous swelling around her neck. The first thing I did was to check her pouch to see if she still had her baby – she did, and it moved, so it was still alive more to the point SHE was ALIVE, and better yet - she was hungry.

The lump under her neck was so huge she could not eat out of the feed dishes we provide. The side of the dish kept getting in the way and it was obviously painful because when she tried to eat the lump would foul the side of the dish and she would recoil in pain.

Sarah still had her baby

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temperatures had become very hot, not unusual at that time of year. It was not too bad in the cottage but it was not air conditioned and somewhat open to the elements. I was a bit concerned that the warm weather would have a detrimental affect on Sarah’s recovery and she was not too impressed with it either and started to show signs of distress. (Wombats will start to overheat and become distressed in temperatures over 35C). There was nothing else for it but to take her into the main house under the air conditioner. She immediately parked herself in front of a personal fan we had placed on the floor to draw cool air from one room to the other.

I then tipped her food on the floor so at least she could reach it. She got stuck into it straight away with great gusto – she must have been starving.

Whilst she was eating I stood there looking at her trying to decide the best course of action. My immediate thought was to catch her up and take her to the vet but on reflection, not knowing what sort of internal damage she had sustained I was concerned that if I picked her up I would cause more damage. I knew she would kick and struggle if I tried to do that and she was no lightweight, despite her obvious weight loss. I guessed she was probably around 25kgs and she should have been closer to 30kgs.

At this stage we had been through all the antibiotics that the Vet had provided but poor Sarah was not showing any signs of improvement. The vet had also given me some very large needles to hopefully relieve the pressure that was obviously building up inside this swelling under her chin. These needles would make the most needle hardened person tremble with fear – they were huge but certainly did the job. We had to use them to puncture the swelling and relieve the pressure – not an easy or pleasant job and you should have seen the stuff that came out – Shudder!!!!

So I decided to err on the side of caution and leave well alone and to ring our Vet to ask for her advice.

I thought perhaps she could provide me with some injectable pain killers and anti-inflammatories without having to subject Sarah to the trauma of being manhandled (or should that be person handled?) and then transported to the Vet’s surgery. Now I had sighted her at least I could keep an eye on her and watch for any changes to her condition and administer any drugs without the trauma of carting her about.

Our Vet was more than happy to help out and I picked up the drugs the following Monday. But ‘Murphy’ and his pesky law came to spoil the picnic. Sarah disappeared again and I was unable to administer any of the drugs the vet had provided me. I waited and waited and walked across to her enclosure at all times of the day and night but she refused to put in an appearance.

She was somewhere underground in one of her extensive burrows. She eventually surfaced again on the Friday two days before Christmas (that was twenty three days after the event). So now I had no choice. I had to catch her and confine her to somewhere convenient so I could treat her. I had to be able to have access to her on a daily basis and put her in a place close to the house where we could administer the antibiotics.

We had to puncture the swelling and relieve the pressure – not a pleasant job

Despite all this treatment Sarah still did not show any signs of improvement, in fact she was getting worse.

The swelling was increasing in size, was as tight as a drum and obviously becoming more and more uncomfortable.

We set up a ‘hospital’ room in our Pug and Pine Cottage (an old building next door to our main house).

This being December, our summertime, the

14

would only take a very small hole to cause this sort of problem. We left the surgery with heavy hearts and feelings of trepidation.

Christmas came and went. I rang the Vet immediately after the Christmas, New Year break and told her the story and suggested to her that we should bring Sarah to her to have this swelling looked at – opened up if necessary.

The next twenty four hours were very very long indeed.

She agreed.

The following day our Vet rang just before she started the operation to tell us just that she was about to start; but needed to be reassured by us that if she found any major problem what should she do? She needed affirmation from us as to whether to press on or to euthanase, knowing our finances were limited.

We transported Sarah to the Vet in one of our wombat boxes and left her, and the box, with the Vet. She took one look at Sarah’s swelling and was horrified. She said it would definitely need to be opened up and that she would operate the next day.

Silly question really! This was around 3pm. I told her to proceed but to ring if she came across anything that could be classed as terminal. Two hours went by and we still had not heard anything and were starting to worry but then no news was good news (or so I believed).

Knowing the surgery normally closed at six I said to Jan that if she hadn’t rung by six, I would ring her. Six o’clock came and went and I paced up and down waiting for the phone to ring but kept putting off picking it up myself. It eventually rang at about twenty past six. I had dived on the‘phone before the end of the first ring. It was the Vet (of course). She said the operation had gone reasonably well and that Sarah was in recovery.

She had removed over a litre of blood, puss and foul smelling fluid from Sarah’s neck but could not find any rupture of the oesophagus or windpipe so the prognosis was reasonably good, although not out of the woods yet. We heaved a collective sigh of relief and lived to fight another day. All this time Sarah had still maintained her joey in her pouch.

The vet examined Sarah and decided that surgery was necessary

It was now over four weeks since the ‘event’. At that stage we did not know the extent of the problem and our Vet was concerned that Sarah may have ruptured her windpipe or oesophagus. We had this nasty feeling that she would not get through the operation particularly as our Vet went to a great deal trouble to impress upon us that she might not survive the procedure, especially if there was damage to the oesophagus and infection was being continually sourced from any foodstuffs that she consumed by leaking into the cavity beneath her neck.

Then came the daily donkey work. We had to irrigate and clean Sarah’s wound daily as well as give her another round of injections for another ten days. By the end of that time she knew exactly what was coming when Jan picked her up and I walked towards her with ‘something’ in my hand. Despite this she was amazingly good and never once attempted to bite anybody and her joey was growing in size and seemingly unaffected by all the traumas Mum was experiencing.

Apparently any small rupture of the windpipe or oesophagus could be nigh on impossible to find. It

15

Sarah shared the house with two orphaned Western Grey Kangaroo joeys (Wallace & Grommit)

Sarah liked to explore the house

Sarah would gaze out the window as if to say “Please can I go home?”

Eventually Sarah would settle down for a snooze on the lounge

We were now well on the road to recovery and she was starting to enjoy herself exploring the house and generally making a nuisance of herself. She would dive into the clothes basket in the bedroom and there was the night she leapt on our bed at 3.30 in the morning, following which, we kept her locked up in her box overnight. An experience she seemed to cope with very well and slept very peacefully all night (as did the rest of the household).

By now we had removed the drain in Sarah’s neck and the hole was beginning to heal but I did not want her to go back into her enclosure until it had healed completely for fear of something getting into it and the infection reoccurring. However Sarah had other ideas. She would sit on the lounge and look out of the window as if to say “Please can I go home” but eventually gave up and settled down for a doze.

However, the time was obviously getting closer to her being reacquainted with her own home.

Mind you, we did let her roam around the house during the evening and at the time we were handraising two orphaned Western Grey Kangaroo joeys (Wallace & Grommit) and she would insist on walking up to them to investigate– something they were not too sure about.

And so the day eventually arrived and after examining her neck, even though it had not healed completely we let her return to her enclosure under her own steam.

The day was the 23rd of January which was seven

16

weeks following that fateful day. After that the house seemed somehow empty despite the fact we still had Wallace & Grommit to care for.

Sarah is a very accommodating animal and is always happy to checkout any newcomers (either human or non human) without any fuss. To date, apart from the occasional friendly soft nip, I have never known her to bite anybody. But, I guess there is always a first time!!

I have reproduced a series of photos of Sarah making her own way back home which say it all really. She was obviously pleased to be back in her own environment and her joey survived well and at the time of writing has vacated the pouch and has been ‘parked’ somewhere underground where Sarah will protect it for some weeks to come. I hope sometime not too far into the future she will bring it to the surface and allow us to see it.

Bob Cleaver Wombat Rise Sanctuary, South Australia www.wombatrise.com

Is this the way out? The beginning of Sarah’s walk to freedom

I remember this: down the gravelly driveway

This is where I got run over

Nearly home

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Thanks for all the help

See ya!

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Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release

Sugar Gliders

Jodie Blackney

Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release

Sugar Gliders (Petaurus breviceps) Jodie Blackney

Sugar Glider. Photographed by Steve Amesbury

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The Sugar Glider is also known as other names: Honey Glider, Short Headed Possum.

The Sugar Glider is the most commonly known species of glider in Australia. It is a small, arboreal gliding possum native to most of the eastern and northern mainland of Australia, and Tasmania. Its name Petaurus breviceps means “short headed rope-dancer”. Its common name ‘Sugar Glider’ refers to its preference for sugary nectarous food and ability to glide between trees.

Description:

Sugar Gliders are generally 12-32cm long with a tail that is 15-23cm long, and weight 100-160g.

Their fur is a thick bluish-grey with a pale belly and a dark stripe that runs down their back. They have a long prehensile tail which has a white tip on it. Being nocturnal they have large eyes to help see at night, and their ears swivel to help locate prey in the dark.

Weight:

Males: averaging 140g (115-160g), females: averaging 115g (95-135g)

Sugar gliders have five digits on each foot, this is their front foot, each toe has a claw. Photographed by Hannah Marco

Sugar Glider Hind Feet are different to the front foot as they have an opposable toe, their second and third digits are partially fused together, forming a grooming comb.

Photographed by Hannah Marco

Teeth of a juvenile Sugar Glider. Photographed by Hannah Marco

The pouch of a female sugar glider. Photographed by Ryan Lee

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Sugar gliders are similar to Squirrel Gliders and have gliding membranes that allow eďŹƒcient movement. These gliding membranes are called patagiums and stretch from the wrists to the ankles. Sugar Gliders can glide up to 45 metres using their tails to steer and balance.

The males are larger than the females. The mature males have scent glands on their forehead that look like bald spots. They are a similar scent gland on their throat and near the base of their tail. The males use their scent glands to mark each other and their territory.

Lifespan:

In the wild, up to 9 years; typically up to 12 years in captivity; in zoos, maximum reported is 17.8 years.

Sugar Gliders have large eyes to help them see at night.

Photographed by Hannah Marco

Sound:

Sugar gliders have a loud cry similar to a YIP-YIP-YIP, they also make a variety of noises ranging from a shrill yapping (when a predator is near), a sharp shriek (when fighting) to a “gurgling chatter� (when in their nest).

Distribution & Habitat

Sugar Gliders membranes are called patagiums and stretch from the wrists to the ankles. Photographed by William James Tychonievich

The Sugar Glider is the most widespread of all the glider species and the most widespread of all arboreal marsupials in Australia. They occur in every state and territory of Australia, however are largely confined to the northern and eastern parts of Australia. They were introduced into Tasmania in 1835. They occur also in New Guinea and other various neighbouring islands.

They can be found in any forest where there is a suitable food supply, but most are commonly found in forests with eucalyptus trees. They occur in both wet and dry woodlands usually those with acacia present. They depend on tree hollows for shelter, and to nest. They are arboreal, spending most of their lives in trees, and being nocturnal, they sleep in their nests during the day and are active at night.

A Sugar Glider gliding. Photographed by Lyn Hampson

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Behaviour:

Gliding Sugar Gliders have a remarkable ability to glide from tree to tree, they rarely descend to the ground. They glide with their membranes of loose skin (patagia), which extends from their wrists to their ankles to locate food and to flee from evading predators. Sugar Gliders launch themselves off trees, spreading their limbs to expose the gliding membranes.

They are able to glide up to 50 metres or more between trees, steering which direction to go with their tail.

Torpor Sugar Gliders go into a state of torpor, which is a form of hibernation when food is scarce or it’s a cold season, drought or a rainy night. It differs from hibernation in that torpor is usually a short term daily cycle. During torpor they lower their body temperature and use less energy and oxygen, this helps the glider to conserve its energy. When the Sugar Glider is in torpor it becomes immobile and unresponsive.

Torpor, which is seen as an emergency measure, saves energy for the animal by allowing its body temperature to fall to a minimum of 10.4 °C to 19.6 °C. When the food is scarce, as in winter, heat production is lowered in order to reduce energy expenditure. With low energy and heat production, it is important for the Sugar Glider to peak its body mass by fat content in autumn (May/June) in order to survive the following cold season.

Diet and Nutrition:

The diet of the Sugar Glider in the wild primarily consists of insects and small vertebrates, and they feed on the sweet sap of certain species of eucalyptus, acacia and gum trees. Sugar Gliders seem to prefer acacia under-story, banksias, along with tea trees and other shrubs. A favourite sap tree is the Red Bloodwoods. They are seasonally adapted omnivores with a wide variety of foods in their diet.

In summer they live primarily on insects and in winter when the insects are scarce, they live by feeding on acacia gum, eucalyptus sap, manna, honeydew or lerpes. They can be carnivorous (preying mostly on lizards and small birds) and eat many other foods when available, such as nectar, acacia seeds, bird eggs, pollen, fungi and native fruits.

Sugar Gliders should be kept in a minimum of pairs while in care, even while feeding. Photographed by William James Tychonievich

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Sugar Gliders are fed mealworms in captivity, along with many other varities of food. Photographed by Lynn Tobias

Newly rescued sugar Glider lapping warm milk formula.

Photographed by Cherie Reid

Reproduction:

The age of sexual maturity in Sugar Gliders varies slightly between the males and females. The males reach maturity at 12 - 15 months of age, while females reach it from 8 to 15 months. In the wild, sugar gliders breed once or twice a year depending on the climate and habitat conditions.

A Sugar Glider female gives birth to one or two babies (joeys) per litter. After mating, the gestation period is 15 to 17 days; this commonly takes place between August and December. After which the tiny joey will crawl into a mother's pouch for further development. Males also assist with the care of the young; it is not all left to the females.

Once a joey climbs into the pouch, the joey will attach itself to its mother's nipple, where it will stay for about 60 to 70 days. The mother can get pregnant while her joeys are still in pouch and hold the pregnancy until the pouch is available.

The joey gradually topples out of the pouch, growing too big for the pouch, unlike a possum who nurses the whole joey fully in the pouch, the sugar glider emerges virtually without fur, and the eyes will remain closed for another 12– 14 days. During this time, the joey will begin to mature by growing fur and increasing gradually in size. It takes about two months for the ospring to be completely weaned, they will forage with their mother until they are 7-10 months old.

When a glider leaves its birth area to establish a niche of its own, their survival prospects are very slim, due to predation, lack of nest sites, and competition from other groups. A new glider may only be accepted by another group if the family needs to replace one of their own which has died. The longevity for a Sugar Glider has been recorded for 12 years in captivity and 5-6 years in the wild.

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This is a joey on the teat of her mother - notice the way it has toppled out of the pouch. Sugar Gliders are unable to carry their young fully in the pouch like their cousin the possum. Photographed by William James Tychonievich

Mother Sugar Glider in nest with her baby. Photographed by Steve Parish

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Sugar Glider joey on the teat of her mother. Photographed by Steve Parish

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There are several things that can be offered to counteract shock – 1. Glucose and water – 1/3 of a teaspoon of glucose mixed with 25mL of water. Offer small amounts, perhaps 1-2mL for the first few hours. Once the baby is warm, offer milk instead of glucose.

2. Rescue Remedy – a couple of drops of Rescue Remedy – available from Health Food Shops – in the mouth will help calm the animal.

Rescuing:

Rescuing adult Sugar Gliders Rescuing an adult Sugar Glider requires approaching the injured glider with caution. Wearing long sleeves or protection gloves scoop the glider up into a towel, or blanket. Make sure you cover its head, as this will help keep the glider calm. Then place it gently into a box or animal transport cage, which has a towel or blanket in the bottom of it.

Rescuing a Glider Joey If you come across a dead adult Sugar Glider, check if it is a female with a joey in the pouch. If the joey is pink and without fur, DO NOT forcibly remove it from the teat, this will cause its death. Cut the teat close to the mammary gland, leaving the joey attached to the teat, make sure you attach a safety pin to the end of the teat so the joey does not swallow the teat. If the joey is furred, remove it from the pouch, cover and wrap it in a towel or blanket to keep it warm and calm. Handle as little as possible, as to not cause more stress.

Handling:

Avoid handling Sugar Gliders by the tail as the fur will strip off after which the tail will die, wither away and drop off.

Gliders have very sharp teeth and claws and are capable of inflicting quite painful scratches and similar injuries. Thus, inexperienced handlers may care to wear gloves. A pillowslip can be used like a glove, which is great for grasping Sugar Gliders and it saves you being bitten or scratched.

The teat of the mother must be cut as close to the mammary gland as possible (as the mother is dead their is no blood). Then put a safety pin through the teat to prevent the joey from swallowing the teat. Photographed by Lyn Hampson

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Sugar Gliders in Care:

Use a variety of pouch sizes to fit the growing glider. Check for no loose threads that can be chewed or cause entanglement, or loops of cotton or wool in which claws or nails can be caught. And always maintain a sheet of information about the glider, including age, stage of development and if relevant the illness of the joey in care.

Make sure your cage or basket is glider proof – they do tend to go walk-a-bout even with their eyes still closed!

Bottles and teats Empty vanilla essence bottles make good sized bottles for baby gliders. Sugar Gliders prefer a long and thin, or pointy teat, so make sure you have put a hole in the teat, a suitable size for the baby. Use a large needle to make the hole. The teat will need to be soft and malleable for the baby to use. Ensure that bottles and teats are washed after every feed.

Small bottle brushes can be purchased for cleaning the bottles. Always rinse them well. Some carers prefer to use syringes – use what is best for you and the joey.

Milk storage Only make up enough milk formula for one day’s usage. Made up milk formula must be refrigerated, and never reheat milk formula. If you are going out or away, milk formula will need to be taken on an ice pack to stop it going ‘off ’.

Formula There are several formula milk powders you can use: Divetalac – 1 scoop to 40mL warm water Wombaroo formula for possums is ideal for gliders as well There are three brands of formulas in Australia.

Biolac, Di-Vetelact and Wombaroo.

All brands do a similar thing (provide a low lactose formula for your joey), which one you choose to use is your preference.

The <0.8 Possum Milk Replacer is for joeys with less than 80% of their pouch life completed: ie younger joeys not yet emerged from pouch, furless to fine fur; eyes closed to just opened; ears drooped.

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Sugar Gliders in Care:

Feeding Make sure that the animal is warm and comfortable before attempting to feed it. A cold animal will not feed.

Hold it firmly but gently in one hand whilst offering the syringe or bottle in the other.

Milk needs to be just over finger warmth, but not HOT. Small gliders should be fed with their head horizontal with the teat or syringe. Do not feed them so much that the milk comes back out their nose – inhaling milk into their lungs is dangerous. Let them lick at their own pace. A very young baby may not have its mouth open enough to take a teat or syringe, so in this case drip feed it. Place a drop of milk on its mouth and let it lick it in – have patience, experience at drinking will come!

More experienced animals can be fed in an upright position, and their frequency of feeding will depend upon the size/age/need of the sugar glider. Very young babies will need feeding two hourly, working up hours as their body weight increases. They are usually weaned between 30 and 50 grams. Gliders lap readily, so encourage your baby to lap from a small size. If the glider is very small or a pinky, try wrapping it in a tissue to hold it still whilst feeding – have their head out but the body wrapped up. Try holding them with one hand around their body and their head between your thumb and first finger. This will help give you control and help to keep their head in an upright position and facing in the right direction.

Furless babies may need a little moisturizer on their skin to stop them drying out – if their skin feels dry, put a little on – moisturiser must be non-fragrant, a suggestion is to use pawpaw ointment, Stimulation for body hygiene may be necessary for young gliders. Mother gliders lick the cloacae to encourage the baby to toilet - you are not expected to go that far! A damp tissue gently rubbed over the area will stimulate a baby to toilet. Baby gliders often make a ‘ch-ch’ sound whilst toileting. Sometimes part of the cloacae protrudes, which is normal for gliders. Once a baby has fur and is grooming itself, keep a check that the glider is toileting itself before stopping entirely.

Human contact is necessary – babies bond with their carers. Like all babies, they need love to thrive – as they grow older, contact is decreased. Making a ‘tut-tutting’ noise lets them know you are approaching the cage, so they do not stress. Contact with pets is not to be encouraged, as cats and dogs are natural predators in the wild.

Diet in Capitivy By around 35 grams a baby is ready for an inside cage. They need to learn about exploring their environment, and how to climb and glide, and land safely. A variety of food should be offered, always remembering that gliders are omnivores – they like meat and vegetables!

By 40 grams gliders should be ready to drop a milk feed, and start showing interest in other food stuffs. Offer banana, avocado, and other soft fruits. Baby may not show much interest at first, but interest will increase. Gliders are individuals, as we are, and their tastes will vary. Try custards, apples, pear, baby cereal, fruits, rice, pasta, vegetables; fresh sweet corn, carrot, cucumber, eggs – especially scrambled, unsalted nuts –peanuts, cashews and almonds, shelled sunflower seeds, dry dog or cat food moistened with a little water.

Don’t forget the insects- grasshoppers, mealworms, beetles, cockroaches. Placing the insects inside a container like a large base of a flower pot (which prevents them escaping) with some leaf litter encourages the gliders to hunt their own food. .

Flora – Gliders enjoy scrabbling in the bark from trees – all the little goobies like to live in the bark. They also like the sap from the bark – putting the off-cut branches into water will encourage the sap to flow.

Flowers – gliders also enjoy pollen so offer flowers from native trees.

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Sugar Gliders in Care:

A Sugar Glider mixture, which contains honey, hard boiled egg, sustagen, pollen, Wombaroo Small Carnivore mix, water, Wombaroo High Protein Supplement and a high protein infant cereal.

Fresh water should be readily available.

By the time your Sugar Glider is around the 90-100g weight, you should be looking for a colony for it to join.

Sugar Gliders are social animals, and they stress if they are raised on their own. They have a greater survival rate if they are colonised.

Donated by Lyn Hampson - Glider Carer The food we introduce to gliders to start with is: Avocado mashed with a little honey, baby cereal and the milk you are using.

Make it quite milky to start with so they can lap easily and then it gets a little thicker later.

Also in the milk we add a drop of Pentavite (Bayers) to the whole dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bottle.

31

Sugar Gliders in Care:

Please note: Squirrel Gliders can be taken care of the same as Sugar Gliders, however â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Feathertail Gliders, Mahogany Gliders, Yellow-bellied Gliders and Greater Gliders have specific needs and there is detailed articles on these and other gliders later on.

Sugar Gliders prefer to live in colonies when in the wild, so it is necessary for them to be raised in colonies whilst in care. Babies can be raised individually to begin with, but must be placed in a colony to learn the skills necessary for survival upon release.

A small long teat is preferred for feeding a small Sugar Glider. Even at this young age they can lap.

Photographed by Cheryl Bickham

A small long teat is preferred for feeding a small Sugar Glider. Photographed by Cheryl Bickham

A cannula is also used to feed young sugar gliders â&#x20AC;&#x201C; they are capable of lapping from a young age and should be encouraged to do so. Photographed by William James Tychonievich

A small teat on the end of a syringe also works well. Photographed by Lyn Hampson

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Sugar Glider lapping from a curve tipped cannula. Photographed by William James Tychonievich

A curved tip syringe is useful to feed young Sugar Gliders. Photographed by Cherie Reid

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This pouch is too small for this Sugar Glider. Photographed by William James Tychonievich

4gm Sugar Glider - this sugar glider is not viable and should be humanely euthanised. Photographed by Lyn Hampson

36

Sugar Gliders in Care:

Unfurred or under 20g You will need perseverance and patience to raise a little one like this. Be prepared to do night time feeds throughout the night. Once a glider hits around 20g they have a much better chance of survival. Their eyes start to open anywhere from this weight on.

When a baby glider first comes into care it will require a pouch to stimuli that of the mother’s pouch. The pouch should be made of natural fibres so that it breathes, such as cotton or wool. As shown in the diagram, the hospital box or basket should have three layers: Towel for padding, hot water bottle or heat pad to offer constant heat.

If using a hot water bottle, you must ensure that the water is kept up to temperature, wrapped in a towel, then another layer of towel or blanket. Joey in pouch, then a towel or blanket on top. As these babies must be kept warm at all times.

There must be an ambient temperature of around 30 -32 C. A hot box or humidicrib are preferred methods of caring for these joeys. (You can learn about how to make a 'hot box' in Issue 5 Part B of the Wildlife Rescue Magazine – the article is by the DIY Guy).

A young Sugar Glider. Photographed by William James Tychonievich

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This is a young male Sugar Glider. Photographed by William James Tychonievich

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A young Sugar Glider. Photographed by William James Tychonievich

A young Sugar Glider. Photographed by William James Tychonievich

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A Sugar Glider joey. Photographed by William James Tychonievich

A Sugar Glider joey. Photographed by Ryan Lee

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A young Sugar Glider. Photographed by William James Tychonievich

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Sugar Gliders need to be released where they have their natural food source, note the grey-white tip on the tail, this is one of the features distinguishing the Sugar Glider species from the Squirrel Glider. Photographed by Steve Parish

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Sugar Gliders feed on pollen from native flowers. Photographed by Cheryl Bickham

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Sugar Gliders feed on pollen from native flowers. Photographed by Cheryl Bickham

44

Sugar Gliders in Care:

Health Development of teeth problems can occur if not supplied with a consistent supply of fresh eucalypt branches.

A varied diet is also necessary.

Fighting can occur within family groups and between other family groups - do not house them together where they can bite at the toes of others in their cages. If fighting breaks out you must separate them.

Smell plays an important part as far as gliders go knowing and accepting each other, so care must be taken when introducing gliders together. The scent gland is not usually active till around 6-8 months of age. If you have an animal that already has a scent it would be from the scent gland of the parent, this smell seems to stick with the animals, whilst it's in care. The best time to group Sugar Gliders is when they are at nest/pouch stage if possible before their scent gland becomes active. If it's older and both have a scent then caution must be taken.

• Try to have a mixed sex group so they will stay together as a family after release.

• The biggest problem for small gliders is carers who tend to baby them.

• They should not be encouraging the glider to leave their nest box during the day time otherwise they will end up being an expensive loss (consider the money and time spent whilst in care) and an easy meal for the local predators - pythons, owls, goannas, local cats and resident gliders.

• Make sure you pair gliders before they are placed into the outside aviary so you can keep an eye and ear for any disagreements that may occur and therefore remove the introduced glider before it gets injured.

By the time your Sugar glider is around the 90-100g weight, you should be looking for a colony for it to join. Sugar Gliders are social animals, and they stress if they are raised on their own. They have a greater survival rate if they are colonised.

Sugar Gliders take to nest boxes quite easily. Photographed by William James Tychonievich

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Photographed by William James Tychonievich

Photographed by William James Tychonievich

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Sugar Gliders like to nestle together to sleep. Photographed by Andrea Devos

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Sugar Gliders nest together and so should be kept together in groups, especially for sleeping. Photographed by Jason Fether

Branches and thick ropes should be placed in the enclosure for gliders to play and hide. These are two Squirrel gliders, notice they have no white tip on their tail as Sugar Gliders do.

Photographed by Lyn Hampson

Sugar Gliders in Care:

Cages and Aviaries An aviary or cage should be used to house Sugar Gliders as it provides security from predation and extreme weather conditions and allows natural behavior and development. The size of an aviary is important in that it must allow the Sugar Glider suďŹ&#x192;cient room to move/glide and build up muscle condition in preparation for release. The enclosure should have some weather protection on it.

Cages can be placed inside or outside. If kept inside, regular cleaning will be necessary to avoid unacceptable odours (usually scent marking by the dominant males). Cages for keeping two or three Sugar Gliders can be as small as 1800 mm x 900 mm x 1800 mm. The standard 12 mm square weld mesh (light gauge is strong enough) is recommended.

Young gliders can squeeze through 2.5 cm wire mesh without any trouble.

Numerous internal branches, nest boxes, etc are required. Fresh eucalypt branches with leaves are necessary for providing nesting materials. Care must be taken with outdoor enclosures to avoid extremes of temperatures and adverse winter weather conditions.

The cage should be covered in shade mesh for privacy and will also keep flies and bees away from the food. Ants can be a problem during the hot weather, so, place the legs of the cage into a dish of water, surround it with non perfumed talc powder or rub Vaseline jelly onto legs of cage.

The aviary should be located in a quiet corner of the garden if possible, away from areas that are frequently used so as to provide some isolation from humans and pets. Additionally the aviary should be orientated so that open sides are facing east to north with northeast being ideal. The closed areas should face west to give protection from the hot afternoon sun during summer.

Only clean the cage out during the day time, do not disturb them during the night, you do not want to entice them out of their box. Place milk formula ( 8mls per glider) in separate small shallow containers so the glider will not climb into it! To stop the container from being toppled over, apply 'blue tack' under the base. Once they have drunk their milk quota you can then place solid food inside the cage. Fruit must be a suitable size for the glider to hold, small moths, crickets and beetles can be placed into the cage for them to seek out.

Sugar Gliders have acute hearing and they need to stimuli their senses, and also need to forage for food. They can also be given a couple of pine nuts, She-oak seeds and acacia seeds each night with a few meal worms.

A light can be placed outside the aviary to attract insects into the aviary.

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Place fresh branches into aviary, include acacia - gliders like to chew on them. Make sure the Sugar Gliders cannot climb into the containers and drown.

• Housing young Sugar Gliders; A medium sized enclosure (minimum size 1 metre x 1 metre x 1.2 metres) • Housing adult Sugar Gliders; An aviary (minimum size 3 metres x 2 metres by 2 metres) Hygiene and Cleaning • Always maintain good hygiene habits. Clean out all cages and perches daily.

• Water bowls should be emptied, scrubbed and refilled daily.

• Food bowls should be cleaned every day. Excess food removed, food bowl washed in disinfectant and rinsed thoroughly. The mess around the feed areas should be cleaned up.

• Faeces should be scrubbed daily from perches, aviary wire and walls.

• Regular changing of the tree branches so they are always fresh.

Release Some months prior to release, do not give food to the Sugar Gliders in food bowls on the floor. Randomly place food around their enclosure, so they have to hunt for it.

Because they are highly territorial, Sugar Gliders should always be released backinto the area they were rescued from.

Any Sugar Glider kept in care for more than two weeks should go back with their nesting box that they had in their enclosure, this will give them some security until they can sort themselves out and hopefully be accepted by other Sugar Gliders that may have moved into its place. Their nesting box will be scent marked and it will enable them to detect the nesting box easiler in an unknown environment.

Release Sugar Gliders from around 90-100g. Make sure there are some good nesting trees and food trees in the area before release. Release them as a group with their nesting box. A soft release is a must for juveniles because it gives them a safe home to come back to if they need it and allows them time to adjust to the wild. Weeks before the release date, move the group of Sugar Gliders to an outdoor enclosure so they can customize themselves with the natural surroundings, smells and noises.

For a few weeks after release, place out food for them at feeding stations around the area, just until they get used to the area, and they learn where all the feeding trees are. Once they have established themselves in the area, they will stop coming to the feeding stations.

Sugar Gliders take to nest boxes quite easily. Photographed by Lyn Hampson

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Sugar Gliders in Care:

References http://wildliferescuemagazine.com/sugar-glider-article-references.html

Sugar Glider. Photographed by Jeremy Ringma

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Just add water.

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Key Features: Powdered formula mixes easily to desired consistency; high in fibre and low in carbohydrates; high digestibility and palatability; easily flows through syringe; stabilised vitamin C and no added fat or sugar.

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Wildlife Research

Motion activated infra-red cameras

Andrea Devos

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Wildlife Research

Motion activated infra-red cameras Introduction by Natalie McHugh – Wildlife Queensland The use of motion activated cameras has dramatically improved field surveillance methods in the world of conservation science in the last decade. It has become possible to document the presence of some of the most elusive animal species on the planet, as well as capture species new to science. Such technology has enabled zoologists and conservationists to study animals without having to disturb or trap them, proving to be a much less invasive and less time consuming method.

Improvements in camera trapping technology continue to offer an invaluable resource for conservation biologists, allowing incredible still shots and live footage of some of the rarest species on earth.

A huge worldwide camera trap study encompassing Asia, Africa and the Americas has been carried out and captured over 50,000 images of over 100 mammal species. Such a massive project has given biologists an insight into the lives of some of the worlds most endangered and threatened species, and how they are struggling to cope with habitat alteration and destruction. Camera traps have helped confirm what conservation biologists suspected would result; a dramatic decline in species diversity and abundance.

Camera trapping is also proving to be successful in monitoring the abundance and distribution of rare, but well-known species. It has also become a significant tool for capturing footage of animals that have never been caught on camera before and are very rarely seen.

The Amur leopard in China was captured on camera, and this was the first time it had been seen in 62 years!

Camera traps have also helped prove that the extremely rare Siamese crocodile still inhabits Cambodia, as well as the discovery of a few new species.

Successful conservation relies on a thorough understanding of the ecology and behaviour of a species, and in particular population trends. Through the use of camera traps, data can be analysed and assist biologists in prioritising their conservation efforts.

References www.guardian.co.uk/environment www.worldwildlife.org/initiatives/camera_traps

Wildlife Queensland have been using camera traps for the last four years, capturing some wonderful still images of an array of Australian wildlife. They have found camera traps to be an invaluable tool for collecting data about some of Australia’s more elusive marsupials, and helping contribute towards their conservation efforts.

In particular, camera traps have been an important asset for monitoring quolls. In Queensland, we are lucky enough to have the northern quoll and spotted-tailed quoll; however the latter species is classed as Vulnerable (SE mainland species) under the Nature Conservation Act 1992, and is notoriously difficult to see in the wild.

Camera traps have allowed Wildlife Queensland to monitor areas around Brisbane, and south-east Queensland for the presence of quolls.

Through identifying the existence of quolls in an area, Wildlife Queensland is able to liaise with local governments and engage the community to help protect quolls and their habitat. Camera traps will continue to be an important tool for wildlife Queensland providing valuable information aiding to the conservation of Australia’s wildlife.

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A wedgetail eagle captured by camera helping itself to some meat meant for a quoll. Photographed by Wildlife Queensland-Quoll Seekers Network

A brushtail possum. Photographed by Wildlife Queensland-Quoll Seekers Network

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A Brown Goshawk captured by camera helping itself to some meat meant for a quoll. Photographed by Wildlife Queensland-Quoll Seekers Network

A wedgetail eagle captured by camera helping itself to some meat meant for a quoll. Photographed by Wildlife Queensland-Quoll Seekers Network

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Bronwyn Fancourt who is doing a PhD on the study of quolls in North East Tasmania says:

monitoring sites for 3 weeks in early 2012 and again in mid 2012, with a third survey scheduled for late 2012.

This adds a new dimension to the research and enables correlations between quolls and feral cats to be assessed at each site. Species such as feral cats are notoriously difficult to trap, so cameras provide a non-invasive approach to detecting the presence of cats that cannot be reliably achieved using trapping.

Cameras also enable activity times to be recorded and compared between species and sites, giving additional insight to any behavioural adaptations in the presence of feral cats. Cameras have also been deployed to a number of sites across the state over the past few months to compare relative carnivore community structures in different regions and correlate these with observed changes in eastern quoll populations. “

“We use Reconyx PC800’s and HC600’s.

We bought them directly from Reconyx in the US. I use the cameras for monitoring carnivores as part of my research looking at declines in eastern quolls. I have just completed a series of camera surveys around the state looking at quoll and feral cat numbers at a number of sites. I also use cameras at my study sites to monitor quoll numbers and compare the changes on camera with the changes we are seeing when we trap quolls.

Accordingly, remote cameras have recently been incorporated into this study to help monitor quoll populations at each study site, and to provide additional data about community structure and relative carnivore abundance between sites with declining and stable populations.

Twenty Reconyx infrared motion detector cameras have been deployed at each of the four

The research is ongoing, with field work continuing until late 2013.

Eastern Quoll. Photographed by Bronwyn Fancourt

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Eastern Quoll. Photographed by Bronwyn Fancourt

Eastern Quoll. Photographed by Bronwyn Fancourt

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Eastern Quoll. Photographed by Bronwyn Fancourt

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have a NightTrakker NT50B. Its a black flash camera. We bought it to monitor Sugar and Mahogany Gliders, also Cassowary feeding stations on our property after the cyclone. Its been terrific. We bought it from Wildlife Monitoring.â&#x20AC;? Paula Ingerson

Cassowary at one of the feeding stations. Photographed by Paula Ingerson

A curious Cassowary at one of the feeding stations.

Photographed by Paula Ingerson

XXX PVU EPPS DBNFS BT DPN BV U IF VM U J NBU F J O XJ M EM J G F TVS WFJ M M BODF DBNT 59

and picked it up the next day in the evening around 5pm.

We used a Scoutguard infra-red camera from Outdoor Cameras.

We were astounded to find that we had captured photos of 18 different eastern quolls, 3 different tasmanian devils, a wombat and a brave brushtail possum in that short time. Our findings were handed on to the necessary people.

Here are some photos that the camera took.

Driving through an area at the base of Mount Ben Lomond we saw many eastern quolls, we decided to come back and erect an infra-red camera to show proof so we can make this area known to PHD students who are doing research on these amazing creatures.

We collected a wallaby roadkill and moved the roadkill 100 metres into the trees in the area it was found.

We put the camera out at 7pm (daylight saving time)

A Tasmanian Devil

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Very exciting to see a Tasmanian Devil in the wild but if you look closely you will see that this one is carrying pouch young.

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Black eastern quoll and in the background you can see a wombat.

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A very brave brushtail possum as you can see in the forefront of the photo an eastern quoll.

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Two brown eastern quolls.

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D

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G IY U

Fabricating a small holding enclosure

Glen Burston

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Fabricating a small holding enclosure Well a friend was in need and I am a bit of a softie [but don’t tell anyone OK!] When it comes to the offer of scones, jam and homemade cream – I can be bribed.

She had a bobtail come into care and did not have a “quarantine” enclosure available.

You know the motto – off to “The Man Shed” I go.

Chuck on some AC/DC [look that up on your I-Can-Do-Anything-Pad].

Now search for materials.

G IY U

Y

D

As she is a carer after all and money does not grow on trees [yet!].

Let’s see what’s in the Glen’s building pile of STUFF!

A size of 2m long x 900mm wide x 300mm high. Sounds great.

G IY U

Y

D

This will also fit into the rescue vehicle no problems and I can deliver as well.

She did say scones, jam and homemade cream.

I used 75x35mm pine [non treated] as we don’t want any nasty chemicals.

Cut the lengths and glue and screw them together. Nothing difficult here.

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D

Y

G IY U

G IY U

Y

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Now measure and cut your corrugated tin. I had some left over Colorbond.

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget to take the sharp edge off otherwise you get cut fingers. [Yes I did it but no stitches â&#x20AC;&#x201C; silly handyman.]

G IY U

Y

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Screw the corrugated tin to the frame. You can use tek screws or wood screws, whatever is laying about just waiting to be used.

I knocked up a nice timber frame for the top and added hinges.

I have one of them air staplers [everyone needs one].

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D

Y

G IY U

G IY U

Y Some little side beams to stop it dropping onto her head when cleaning and nothing for the base as it will be on grass and the bobtail wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be digging.

G IY U

Oh and some handles for the sides so that she can move it around the backyard.

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget to seal the timber with some natural sealer.

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Y

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D

Stapled some left over aviary wire to the top.

A short 4 hour drive [well we were staying overnight in Perth for a meeting after all] and one happy carer.

Total cost – Nothing, Nada, Zip. Well it did cost her – did I say scones, jam and homemade cream – YUM! A bigger version – one happy Missus [That’s always good] and a Reptile Retreat to boot.

GU Y I

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Happy Building!

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Albatross adventures Wildlife Research

Dr Richmond Loh

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I

remarked that he saw our little boat get tossed around in the big Bass Straight. He couldn't believe that he and several others could even see the sky beneath our hull!

had the most amazing trip ever. To summarise it all in a sentence, I'd say that the trip to Albatross Island was like living in a National Geographic documentary! And if you have any phobia of drowning, heights or of birds, this would really test those nerves.

ankfully the jump onto the rocks from the boat wasn't too difficult because the cop knew how to bring the boat just a step away from the rocks. en with our luggage, we clambered up some pretty steep rocks.

Rupert Woods (a wildlife veterinarian) together with Kaye Humphreys (a microbiologist from Taronga Zoo) set up a scientific expedition to Albatross Island to collect material to study why the Shy Albatross population had been on a decline.

Aer unloading, we were taken around to 3 of the 4 nesting sites to see the birds. It was amazing. ere were fledglings (i.e. chicks that are almost ready to fly off) sitting atop their mud nests so quietly and in such great numbers. If they are endangered now, I wonder how packed this little island would have been years ago!

My journey started on Wednesday night. A guy with two first names (David James) picked me up from my house at ~10:45pm and we drove to Stanley (a little town by the sea about 240km north west of Launceston) arriving there around 1am. en on ursday morning, we set off with the Marine Police at 8:30am.

As you get close to them, they start snapping their beaks at you. I wondered how this was going to scare anything away. But I was told that if you really get up close, they'd vomit on you. A good one, with the wind behind can project up to 6 feet away!

We each got a really cool warm jacket that doubled as a life jacket to wear. One of the officers commented, "It's going to get real fresh out there." I didn't know what he meant by ‘fresh’, but I soon found out.... or at least I thought I did. For the first hour or so, we had a pretty rocky journey. e swells were 2-3 feet and I was hanging on tight. But then, as we approached the open seas with not a land in sight, we had 2-3 metre swells!

Luckily I didn't get vomited on. But Rupert did and he said that it's a real oily smelly slick. Yuk! So each day, we do about 4 or 5 of what is termed "Death Runs". is is where we scan the nesting sites for any dead chicks and collect them to do post-mortems on them. So this was our whole day starting at 8am each morning with breaks for morning tea, lunch and then break for the night with dinner.

e walls of water on either side made me think that it was another "parting of the sea". Now this really tossed the little boat around. When I thought I was holding on tight, well,.... it was then that I found out that I could hold on tighter and longer!

And at night, there are these small birds (twice the size of budgies) called "prions" that return to the cave from the sea. ey return in the pitch black and travel at full speed and literally crash land. So whenever we see one flying in, we'd hear a thud (bird meets cave wall)..... and then..... another thud (bird then meets cave floor).... then the sound of their quick tiny legs scurrying to the small crevices in the cave.

I held on for dear life as the boat became airborne about 3-4 times! I nearly hit my head on the dashboard several times as the boat landed back onto the water. is topped even the scariest amusement park ride I've ever had, and I sure didn’t want to be tossed out of the boat, for beneath us, the waters were not only freezingly cold, but is supposed to be infested with sharks!

ere in the rubble they'd chase each other and make lots and lots of noise. One night, while we were having dinner, one actually crashed smack bang into another guy's face! It was a wonder that it didn’t fall onto his dinner plate. So, this kind of worsened my bird phobia.

Even the snazzy life jacket with all the gadgets attached were of no comfort to me in the rough seas. As we approached Albatross Island the waters calmed to smaller swells. Rupert (the vet who’d been on the island) 73

Unloading the boat at Albatross Island

Me with a friend!

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On Albatross Island you have.... albatrosses (or is that albatrii?)!

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Aer much probing, it’d credit us with maybe one or two tiny bottles, but if you were patient enough, jackpot! e little sample containers poured out and rolled all over the car park.

As more birds returned from their daily voyage to our sleeping quarters (cave), the volume of the racket rose.

So, there was constant noise up till about 6:30am the following morning when the sun rises and they would fly back out to sea. I wonder if they ever sleep.

I got home aer 8pm and so was buggered and hungry.

Had dinner, watched a bit of tele and had a very nice long, long hot bath..... A bath never felt so good before!

But the scary sounds did not actually come from them. e scariest noise was actually made by, would you believe me, cute little penguins! Zipped up inside the tent at night it felt like I was in Jurassic Park since the penguins made noises much like the Velociraptors in the movie. Freaky!

en back to work since it was a Monday the next day.

And so that was my little adventure.

One morning aer toileting by the edge of the rocks, I went to another side of the island for a bath. I chose to bathe in the morning because the water was much calmer at that time of the day. But geeez was it cold! It was like bathing in local anaesthetic!

I could not feel a thing at all while I was bathing. It was really THAT COLD! Definitely not the luxury of what you’d get like in the TV series ‘Temptation Island’. And Temptation Island it wasn’t since we were surrounded by ‘chicks’ of a different kind.

Sunday morning we had to pack up everything and lug all the camping gear and lab equipment to the rocks below. at was so tiring. Carrying heavy stuff non-stop up and down, and up and down, and up and down the rocks from 7am-11am. Did I mention that we climbed up and down a lot?

Dr Richard Loh showing the wingspan of an albatross

e Marine Police fetched us in the late morning arriving back in Stanley at around 2pm. en we drove back to Launceston. Stopped by a bakery for some late lunch. Man was I hungry! Anything would have tasted delish, but there was one thing I had been craving for, and that was MEAT! A mince pie was the substitute.

Story by Dr Richmond Loh BSc, BVMS, MPhil (Vet Path), MANZCVS (Aquatics), MANZCVS (Pathobiology), DipPM. Veterinarian | Adjunct Senior Lecturer Murdoch University | WAVMA Communications Committee Member | Secretary Aquatic Animal Health Chapter Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists (ANZCVS) The Fish Vet, Perth, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA. Mobile Veterinary Service for fish and other aquatic creatures. http://www.thefishvet.com.au

We had to stop off at my work to drop all the specimens off. It took over an hour because the stuff got stuck in the liquid nitrogen container and we had to dig them out. So there we were, in the car park, in the dark probing a big bottle for little plastic containers to drop out.

It was like playing one of those casino slot machines.

76

Wildlife Research

A struggling eagle family

Maggie Harriman

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A

nd then the eagle glided about 300 metres down the cow pat laden hill, Phil Harriman and Jeremy Wilson, made their way down through the long dry grass in close pursuit. As they tripped over yet another barbed wire fence and through the blackberry bushes that the eagle had just glided over, instead of gaining on her she seemed to be getting further away.

gallant pursuit to a peaceful end (except for the heavy panting).

Trained raptor carers, Jeremy and Deb from Sydney Wildlife Service, then had the delicate job of couriering the eagle to a hospital care facility on a nearby property.

Deb drove while Jeremy held the Eagle on his lap.

Jeremy was very careful of the close proximity of the talons to the major arteries in his legs.

“Oh we're not going to get anywhere near it” Deb Kerr despaired. However, as the Eagle faltered on the incline of the next hill Phil replied, "OH YES WE ARE!!!“ and off he sprinted, passing Jeremy at full stride. Jeremy than stepped up a gear and in a flash they were both upon the eagle, throwing towels over it.

Wedge tail eagle talons have been known to pierce straight through a full grown mans wrist and with the ratchet mechanism capable of locking the metatarsals shut, the feet of a full grown eagle are somewhat awesome. Under the guidance of an eagle expert her care began with rest and a good feed.

They were taken quite by surprise when the eagle threw herself on to her back and looked very menacing with her talons up! Phil and Jeremy managed to avoid the talons, netted the bird under a blanket, bringing the

“She appears to have an injured wing and was struggling to fly, that is why I called Sydney wildlife”, the landowner advised. He also added "she has been on the ground for a week or two now, the other one is still on the nest".

Previous page: The father was alone on the nest. The nest was at least 10 metres above the ground

Jeremy Wilson installing the feeding platform, 2 metres high and a wire top

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Deb Kerr supplying food on the feeding platform

The nest was monitored

Mother Wedgetail in care

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Sure enough dad was indeed still on the nest, looking after the eggs. An eagle usually lays two eggs. This raised a second dilemma, if the female does not return to take her watch on the nest the male either cannot leave or, runs the risk of the eggs being destroyed in his absence.

equivalent daily, which was helping her to gain the weight back that she had lost due to her injury and it was now time to visit the vet.

After the first trip in the car Jeremy decided that another method of containment was needed. A box with a removable lid large enough for Jeremy himself to fit in, and quite appropriately labelled fragile and this way up, was acquired. Her appointment was at Canley Heights Veterinary Clinic, where she was sedated, x-rayed and had her injuries assessed.

Also without mum to help feed the chicks the male will find it very hard as a sole parent and could risk his own health struggling to feed them all. The nest was monitored; keeping an eye out mostly for a second eagle visitor and to make sure that dad did not abandon the nest and eggs.

After two weeks and no signs of another eagle it was decided to install a feeding platform so the carers could offer support feeds.

The platform, a large wooden post with a wire top stands about 2m high, tall enough to prevent offerings being taken by the local scavengers (like foxes, cats and dogs) and also strong enough to hold food the size of a goat.

Meanwhile back at the neî&#x20AC;? site the feeding platform had not been touched after weeks.

Jeremy and Deb erected the platform and supplied food every day or two. This was no easy feat either; an adult eagle will eat a rabbit a day and as the babies grow this will have to increase. We also needed to feed the female that was in care.

Now referred to as Wendy, her elbow joint had been injured and had filled with fluid making it very hard and painful for her to use her wing.

There were very small bone fragments seen, but not enough to operate on. While still under sedation 120ml of fluid was drained from the elbow joint. Left out in the wild this would have been a fatal injury.

Wendy was then returned back to her hospital facility. The hospital facility is a cage large enough for her to get to her food and water but small enough to prevent her from using her wings. The enclosure has wire and corrugated iron on the outside, however it is lined with shade cloth so that her feathers suffered as little damage as possible.

Local hunters where recruited to supply the feed, they were asked to use clean shooting techniques so the meat was not contaminated with lead. Eagles can easily succumb to lead poisoning. The freezers quickly filled.

The shade cloth also offers her a sense of security as stress can kill a bird very quickly. Wendy was offered a variety of foods so as to balance it out and mimic her natural diet.

The meat has to be supplied fresh because even though the adult eagle can tolerate the toxins in carrion and road kill the chicks cannot. The parent eagles will slowly introduce older meat to the young so that when they fledge they can tolerate most carrion.

Meanwhile back at the nest site the feeding platform had not been touched after weeks. The platform had been placed in almost direct view of the nest. There was no way the eagle did not know it was there. While it was disappointing that the efforts had gone to waste, it did

Dad and the eggs were monitored regularly and things progressed well. Mum was being fed a 500g rabbit or 80

mean that dad was able to get enough food without resorting to eating the offerings.

sleepless nights, but on returning the chick remained in the nest. We also noted how alert the chick was, a loud noise was made while clearing an observation area (used to view the chick without disturbing it) and the chickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head immediately shot up and looked over the rim of the nest before quickly popping back down.

Food continued to be changed on the platform every day or so as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;just in caseâ&#x20AC;? solution, if the adult eagle needed the food it was there.

The landowner rang one night very excited, saying "I was watching the eagle at lunch today when it stood up and I could see a white ball of fluff "! One of the eggs had hatched.

That is when I noted a small peephole in the nest that it had been watching us through. A Wedge-tail can see an object the size of newspaper text at 2km away, providing it is moving. There was no way we could visit without him noticing us. Or being noticed by Dad, who was never seen on the nest after that, but there were always new foods around the rim.

This was an immense relief; dad had not left the nest, was eating without assistance and was doing a good enough job that the chick had hatched. However, on our visit to observe the new family not one, but two Lace Monitors where seen in branches not 10 metres from the nest tree.

On one visit we were amazed to note that the food left for the chick to eat was a swamp wallaby and not a joey either! Other foods we observed like swamp hens were all native, and while there were plenty of rabbits and other feral species around, none were noted on the nest.

Dad was doing a surprisingly good job.

One of them was over 2 metres long. A Lace Monitor is more than capable of climbing into the nest and devouring both chicks and eggs. This gave us many

Not one but two Lace Monitors were seen in branches not 10 metres from the nest tree

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Mum was also improving; during her second visit to the vet Wendy had a much smaller amount of fluid removed from her elbow. A week or so later and now fully rested, it was time to start physiotherapy to strengthen the wing. Jeremy, in rather animated fashion, quickly said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;how the hell do we do physio on a 4kg, 1m tall Wedgetailed Eagleâ&#x20AC;?!

fall. With the nest being more than 10 metres above the ground, we mused as to what it thought as it analysed the sticks crashing to the earth below.

From this point its growth accelerated and it was trying its wings out and roosting on close branches. It was only a matter of time before he took his first flight - a fledging Wedgetail will fly from the nest and not return. He will be watched over and taught by his parents while moving from tree to tree. The family group is being observed flying around home range regularly, the chick is doing very well.

The flight (physio) aviary is again wire, corrugated iron and shade cloth and is approximately 8m long by 5m high and 5m wide. There are branches both up high and low, with ramps for her to run up and balance on, using her wings but not yet flapping or trying to fly, so as to not over work them. This worked a treat and she began to recover.

We only stopped supplying support feeds when we noted that there were now two eagles within the nest territory. Observers had noted two eagles hunting and soaring together as eagle couples do. We are not sure how long the second eagle had been around, but it would have been a really hard job for just one bird to feed the chick right through to fledging.

The next step was somewhat more difficult. After mulling over the findings of countless consultations and suggestions it was decided to erect a couple of posts.

Two 2-3m high posts - tree trunks/branches with the bark left on - were concreted vertically into tubs and erected in the flight aviary. Food was placed on the top of these so that Wendy had to climb and use her wings quite hard in order to eat, only small portions of food where placed on the posts so to get her fill she would have to visit all of the food stops.

And now that the chick has flown the nest it would be even harder for just one adult to keep it alive and fed for the next year or so. So having a second adult now on the scene is a great relief.

Wendy is still with us, but has gone as far as we can take her. She is now going to a bigger facility and more experienced hands. The longer she is in care the less likely it is that she will be releasable. It is also likely that we will not be able to release her back in to the same territory so we will have to find her a new one.

It was a very delighted Deb that contacted me one morning to say that Wendy had actually flown from the top of one perch to the other.

The food on the platform had still not been touched.

We now believe that this was because the adult eagle saw the carcasses that we were leaving out for it as carrion and therefore not good for the chick. It was also noted that there was still plenty of food sighted on the nest, so dad was obviously still doing a great job.

The nest was visited weekly to check on the chick and it seemed that it doubled in size each time. Now being the size of a large turkey it was growing feathers and looked very vulture like.

Its sense of adventure had also increased, it openly studied us observing him and found pleasure in dropping twigs over the edge of the nest, watching them 82

The little white fluff ball peeked over the edge in a curious way

Wendy the Wedgetail will have to remain in care while her wing heals, one day it is hoped she can be released back in wild

83

Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release

Little Red Andrea Ruske

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Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release

Little Red Andrea Ruske

M

y name is Andrea Ruske and I am member of Wildcare Inc NT. We are the only organisation up here in the Northern Territory. You can visit us at http://wildcarent.org.au/

This is the first year we have had mums and babies in care from barb wire injuries, so it is a big learning curve. I hope they will be okay and grow quickly so they can be released before September because this is when the Reds are leaving Darwin, if not they either stay in care or we will have to transport them down to Katherine where the colony arrives later.

All three babies and mums are fine so far but all are still very nervous. The barb wire injuries are healing. I am still not sure about the last mum and baby. It was born on the wire and is still very small, I manage to feed it once or twice a day but mum has milk, so I hope it just takes time.

The oldest baby Ronja is getting more independent and tries to hang a bit on her own but mum is very protective.

I also have a baby boy in care now but the mums don't like him at all and will bite him when he comes close.

I separate Ronja with him and she is fine hanging with him for a while without any trouble.

Previous page: Our smallest baby red is lucky as she still has her mother. Her mother is still nervous and we have to feed baby, we move the motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wing aside and drip milk on the nipple

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Ronja the oldest of the babies that came into care with their mums is getting more independent

Ronja hanging out with our baby boy who came in alone with no mother

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Our baby boy - alone after his mother was killed on the barb wire

One of the mothers with her injured wing and her baby tucked under it

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I am still not sure about the last mum and baby. It was born on the barb wire fence and is still very small

Belita and Bella - another Mum and Bub who was rescued from the barb wire. This is the smallest of my babies, she was born on the barb wire, mum was only caught in the trousers. She had FAL of 54mm and is now 58mm. I am really surprised she survived.

Mum is still very nervous even after a week in care. Usually I feed baby when she is hanging on her by bending her wing aside and dripping milk on the nipple but today I took her off to measure her.

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Smallest of our baby reds in care

Smallest of our baby reds, she was measured and is doing well with an increase in FAL of 4mm

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Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release

Stumpi the Blue Tongue Lizard Dr Susan Roberts

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n March of this year, Dr Susan Roberts, had the pleasure of being able to provide treatment for Stumpi the Blue Tongue Lizard.

“I gave Stumpi intramusclar anaesthetic to perform the repair of tissue, he did not require intubation as the anaesthetic was short acting and chosen due to his traumatised state. I also was able to open his eyelids to examine his eyes. He was actually very lucky as the damage was only superficial to his eyes, and no permanent damage was present.”

Stumpi was brought into me after being attacked by another lizard in his enclosure.

It turns out that poor Stumpi has not had a lot of luck in his two years of life so far, most Blue Tongue Lizards will live to around 12-15 years if they are provided with a safe environment to live. He was previously attacked by the family cat, and at a young age had lost the majority of his tail, and earned him the name Stumpi.

The surgery involved removing a small amount of necrotic tissue at the wound site and then suturing the wound closed with dissolving sutures. The wound closed up well, and I was able to preserve enough tissue so as to prevent interference with the cloacal opening.

This incident left him with a very deep laceration just below his cloacal opening, which made it impossible to further amputate any tissue. I made the decision to try to save the remaining tissue and suture the wound. He also sustained some injuries to both of his eyes, and they were closed and swollen on presentation following his attack.

Stumpi recovered very well from his surgery. To ensure optimal tissue healing and prevent infection Stumpi was given a course of antibiotics which I gave as injections every 3 days. This ensured that the correct dose was given, and in my experience it is much easier and more much more efficient and effective to give via injection

Large laceration the tail of Stumpi. Dr Susan Roberts was able to repair the wound under anaesthetic

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rather than trying to give him oral medication. Following a course of 6 injections, and ensuring that he was housed with 12 hours of UV A/B light, stumpi made a full recovery. His eyes also recovered fully with the use of eye drops and daily cleaning.

reptiles as pets. This unfortunately allows inexperienced people to keep some very exotic animals, often without any knowledge of care or housing requirements. This was always a very challenging experience, but one which allowed me to become very familiar with treatment regimes that were most eďŹ&#x20AC;ective for various species.

I have treated a large number of various reptiles during the last 7 years when I was practicing as an exotics veterinarian in Hong Kong. Reptiles are a very common pet in Hong Kong with people often keeping large pythons and various monitor lizards as pets. Unlike Australia, there are no licencing laws there for keeping

It is very important that blue tongue lizards are provided with a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;temperature gradient 'within their enclosure. This means they need a hot end and cooler area within the enclosure. The temperatures must be monitored with thermometers at both of these ends.

Stumpi's eyes were badly swollen shut on presentation. Dr Susan Roberts applied antibiotic ointment to the eyes during the procedure

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The hot/basking area end can be heated with a thermostatically controlled ceramic/reflector globe to create a basking temperature of 30-35C. At the cool end, aim for 24-28C. Overnight temperatures should not fall below 17-18C.

pitted stone fruits, berries & occasional banana Protein sources can include snails, insects (crickets, roaches, moths, beetles etc), and even boiled egg.

Dr Susan Roberts Veterinary Surgeon (BVSc MEnvSc BSc DipAppSc)

The use of heat mats or weaker ceramic heat lamps may be required to achieve this. Do not use heat rocks, as serious burns to the lizard can result.

It is important to remember that Blue Tongues are omnivorous. To ensure they receive correct nutrients in captivity, feed them equal quantities of fruits/vegies & fresh proteins.

Salad greens/vegies/fruits oďŹ&#x20AC;ered can include Chinese greens, endive, dandelions, mustard greens, sweet potato, squash, carrots, beans & peas, apple, pear, melons, figs,

Stumpi made a full recovery following treatment and went to a separate enclosure to prevent further attacks

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Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release

Wildhaven Wildlife Sanctuary

Alan and Stella Reid

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iLdHAveN is a property dedicated to caring for the beautiful native wildlife of Australia.

The animals roam free and are protected by Stella and Alan Reid, who care so deeply for the wildlife that they changed their lifestyle and in return, these beautiful animals changed them forever.

Alan Reid walking one of the joeys for exercise and to train the joey

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Stella Reid with her joeys at Wildhaven

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We lived in a fog. Our neighboursâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; homes were all gone, our neighbours on either side of us were dead. There were no houses, people or cars. It was a lonely, sad task walking the land looking for my little friends. Only to find death. The only help came from the police.

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Nearly a year after Black Saturday animals could be seen again in the foreî&#x20AC;? the beautiful Goanna.

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Animals returned to the burnt foreî&#x20AC;? but it took nearly a year - wombat 106

Wallabies returned nearly a year after Black Saturday 107

A year after Black Saturday we saw our firî&#x20AC;? echidna 108

We were needing to feed the wildlife who had no food - we relied heavily on donations during these many many months 109

Firî&#x20AC;? year after Black Saturday and animals were returning 110

F

or over twenty two years Alan and Stella Reid have rescued, cared for and loved their beautiful wildlife. However in 2009 a catastrophy happened, - it was the 7th of February 2009, a day forever remembered by the world as 'Black Saturday'.

Fires swept through 78 townships and displaced an estimated 7,562 people. The fires killed 173 people and destroyed over 2,030 houses and more than 3,500 structures and damaged thousands more.

Black Saturday was a day of some of the worst bushfire weather conditions ever recorded. Background temperatures reached 46 degrees Celsius (115°F) and northwesterly winds were over 100km/h (62mph). This had been precipitated by an intense heat wave and almost two months of little or no rain.

The road outside our property was closed off for 3 months, as they searched for the bodies of all the missing.

Black Saturday fires destroyed the majority of wildlife between St Andrews and Kinglake in Victoria.

Wildhaven situated in St Andrews was completely destroyed.

Tragically, the fire took all the wildlife in care as well as domestic pets and all buildings - over 800 animals died at and around Wildhaven; all buildings were razed to the ground.

tried to shelter. There was so much death at Wildhaven our minds could not and never will comprehend that day. We lived in a fog for over a year and sometimes the fog comes back.

It was probably an unconscious decision - if it had to be decided at all - to rebuild Wildhaven. The day after the fire we were discussing how to go about bringing our home back to life. Within six days we were living on our property in a site office generously lent to us by a contractor in Panton Hill.

The only 'surviving' structure was one third of our hay shed - 10m x 6m - which we turned into our new accommodation with some help from friends at the CFA (Country Fire Authority).

"There is nothing more delightful than to scoop up a wild joey in your arms and smell the wind and eucalyptus in the coats of the gentle Kangaroo or the deepearth smell of tiny wallabies. It is wonderful to see the tru in their eyes and the gradual realisation that you mean them no harm" (Stella Reid)

Stella was on a fire truck putting out a fire at a neighbour’s home. Alan was at Wildhaven with the wildlife: animals were running from the fires and from the house as the smoke alarms screeched. As the buildings caught fire and the gas bottles vented, Alan threw open all the doors then followed the animals towards the forest. They were all running, but there was no where to go. Our world was on fire.

It took us over a month to collect the bodies of our little ones from around the house, where our little friends had

We then started constructing the first new enclosure to house rescued wildlife and to plan the construction of the new Wildhaven. A visit from Bob Irwin inspired us even further and we thank him for his kind spirit.

Little did we know that it would be two and a half years in the making.

The house was put on the bottom of the list and we started with four internal (within a four and a half acre enclosure) and one external shelter sheds. We then fenced the enclosure, ensuring it was fox and dog proof.

Within a matter of weeks orphaned and injured animals were being brought in and, while we did what we could, we had to pass them onto shelters outside the burnt zone because we did not have the facilities or environment to look after any animals until August 2009.

The old house site's slab was still reasonably solid which allowed us to put a large shed on it which is now the first aid complex and includes a very well stocked first aid room and five 'stables' for the larger animals brought in.

The new wombat enclosure was a big project for us. We

111

We cut off the burnt bit of where we once housed animal hay and feed. The windows were laser lite clear. Now it was to be our home. Donated furniture started to fill our shed. We had some protection from the sun and wind. It was heaven.

The shed is lined and winter has come

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Inside our shed, I cared for and rescued the little ones that survived the fires.

Burnt but alive

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Merlot & Cooper (Eastern Greys), and Little Alice the Wallaby. Our shed is now full and alive.

Winter inside our shed our babies were warm, well-fed and happy

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Logs being delivered, so the tiny creatures would have a home. These came from Strathewen.

Our first aid complex as it can be seen today

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New Wombat enclosure

The old wombat enclosure - completely destroyed

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Inside the new wombat enclosure

were told other shelters were closing down, and they were holding wombats from our area. We had to design, clear the land and construct the fencing and building in five weeks.

home is quiet, warm, easy to maintain and holds two humans and many many little ones. It sits inside five acres of fenced land where the little ones can play and roam at night. Safe and sound.

All the clearing was done with the help of Bill Watson (Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria). Bill organised 30 Fire Fighters to come to our aid. The area was ready for the new occupants with two days to spare. Bill and his team, along with some assistance from the St Andrews Country Fire Authority, returned over a year later to conduct a huge clean-up and a burn-off on the property.

Rescuers were bringing animals to us before we had any enclosure finished. We were the only Wildlife shelter that took large animals. All the other shelters were not set up for the bigger animals, and they had no experience in caring for them. One boy was 35kg. We booked him in to Healesville Sanctuary to have him checked and took him to an area where there was grass.

We moved in to our new home on 1st October 2012.

John Costantini and Carson Dawson built our home.

They did everything we asked, even if it did not make sense to them.

We did not have a car at this time, we were waiting for a friend to help out. Just after this was taken we bought a mobile phone, so people could speak to us. We were very cut off from the outside world for 4 months. We relied on the donations, it took 4 weeks before we got some ID, it was strange having no identity.

We have kept the temporary shed we lived in as it was. It is a reminder of the two and a half years it took us to rebuild Wildhaven. Our home has one bedroom for humans. One Bathroom. No air-conditioning, no clothes dryer, no dishwasher, no large exhaust fan in the kitchen.

The floor is recycled car tyres, non slip and soft. Our

Our neighbours homes were all gone, our neighbours on either side of us were dead. There were no houses, people or cars. It was a strange time. It took 6 months before people started to return.

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A large sun room was built for our furry friends

Enjoying the sun on the verandah

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Hanging around!

In the 1940's the koalas were lost due to hunting. They had been recovering and over the years we have released many koalas into the National Park behind our Sanctuary.

After Black Saturday we had not seen any koalas, but in August 2010, 15 months after Black Saturday we heard a Koala call from way up in the burnt trees. He looked well, stayed a few days and we hope he is still close. He was in the area where we had released them some years back.

With the koalas coming back it was decided that our next project would be a koala enclosure, it was started on 18th Feb 2011 and finished 18 months later.

The Koala Enclosure was built by Alan, to house Koalas, the trees have been planted so they will give shade and space. It is also used as a fire look out each Summer.

Our first koala came into care one week after it was finished. Her name was Wattle and you can see her in the photo. She was successfully released and many more have followed her since.

(sometimes left too much later in the day!) and other domestic duties, we turn our attention to the outside 'kids' in care. There are (always it seems) Eastern Grey kangaroos who have progressed from the inside nursery to the outside four and a half acre enclosure.

They may share this, and the shelter sheds within, with young wallabies and or wombats - all of whom are still too young to be returned to the wild. There are also special enclosures within the larger one for possums, birds and any animal which may need to be isolated for a time.

A young (pinkie) kangaroo may be with us for eighteen months and a baby wombat as long as two years before they are developed enough to be released. We become very attached to each and every one, of course, but they must be returned to the wild and it is absolutely delightful to see them free once more.

A major part of the daily routine (bravely handled by Stella) is the 'roo poo collection'. This is part of maintaining a high level of hygiene at the shelter. It limits the potential for the outbreak of coccidiosis (coccidia are one of many types of parasites of herbivores) an insidious disease which can destroy an entire mob - especially in times of stress.

There are no two days the same at Wildhaven. The mornings begin with a quick shower for us and a quicker breakfast followed by a more sedate sequence of bottle preparations, toileting, feeding and cleaning up after the young ones in care who share the house with us - either in the nursery made for them or in cots throughout the house.

The 'roo poo collection' probably takes two hours a day.

In the meantime, Alan is either shopping, attending to maintenance around the shelter or building a new enclosure.

Once we have seen to the washing, the house cleaning

The early evenings are taken up with the next to last

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Our home was built to accommodate our joeys in care

35 kilo Kangaroo in need of help, he was taken to the Healesville Sanctuary to have him checked over and later he was able to be released in an area where there is grass.

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The New Koala Enclosure - it took 18 months to finish. Doubles as a fire tower in summer.

Under the koala Enclosure shelters the kangaroos from the heat

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Wattle was found with head injuries. With care and rest, she recovered. Wattle is our first Koala in care since Black Saturday. Part of the koala enclosure can be seen in the background.

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Cement water tanks now are fire bunkers for our little ones

Inside our fire bunkers for our little ones

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Coopers Cottage remains today - a memory of our 3 years we spent in rebuilding.

feeding sessions for the day (some of the younger joeys require bottles every 3-4 hours for several days if not weeks). An injured or orphaned animal may be brought in at any time of the day or night (more often at night) and we either treat it immediately (if necessary) or wait until the morning to assess them more closely.

They may need to be taken to Healesville Sanctuary for treatment. If the animal returns from Healesville (sadly not all do, due to injuries from road trauma or being caught in fences) they are taken back to where they were found or (if patently unsafe) released as close as possible to their home territory.

As you can probably gather, this is a lifestyle. It is not a hobby or a fleeting distraction. Once we decided, some twenty years ago, to devote everything we have to the care of our precious wildlife, our lives changed for the

better and to see the trust shown us by those little creatures is payment beyond price.

Each week we receive calls from individuals and groups wishing to help at Wildhaven. Most people think they can come and hold the joeys. But that is not all the work that needs to be done. If you'd like to cuddle Australia's Wildlife, we suggest you visit a sanctuary such as Healesville. That is a public facility where you can admire and interact with a wide range of Australia's Wildlife.

However, when you come to Wildhaven, you need to understand that it is a private home, just like yours. We are not a public facility, and we're not geared up to let you wander around, looking at the wildlife in our care.

In addition to creating significant difficulties for us and the little ones in our care, it is against the rules (under

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Stella with koala joey

Stella with a very grateful rescued joey

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which we hold the DSE licence) to allow the public access to the wildlife.

If you are interested in helping us at Wildhaven, the work that we need help with is much more mundane to most people. But we are always in need of help. Here is some information which may help you decide if you are both willing and able to help:Hours: Volunteers start at 7.30am and finish at 10.30 am every morning. These are set times, being the times which fit in with our routine and the natural daily cycle of the wildlife we care for.

Type of work: Naturally, the only everyday work available is cleaning out the wildlife enclosures. That mostly means that kangaroo poo needs to be picked up - and quite large quantities of it. We also have planting and or weeding days when larger groups wish to help.

Helpers: We are happy to work with children who have restricted abilities to function, homeless people, depressed people, Church Groups, School Groups, as well as large corporations, from 2 to 30 people â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and it does not matter what race, culture or religion you are provided that the needs of our wildlife are being met at all times.

Other work: We might plant wild flowers, sit on the grass and pull out weeds, we might spread mulch and, if the wildlife in our care approaches, we allow them to be part of what we are doing. We provide a safe, gentle spot for those who need to see the world in a different light. There are always jobs to do, far too many to note.

to visit. The money donated to us is spent directly on the wildlife for milk formula, hard feed, blankets, heat pads, pouches, enclosures, vet bills and fuel.

If you're still interested in helping, please phone to make the arrangements with us. Please understand that we cannot accommodate all requests to visit and we must put the welfare of the wildlife first at all times.

You can contact Alan and Stella Reid from Wildhaven, St Andrews, Victoria, Australia.

By mail: 2290 Heidelberg-Kinglake Road St Andrews 3761 Vic, Australia (Wildhaven is located about 50km NE of Melbourne,Victoria).

Phone: 03 9710 1024 Mobile: 0448 832 031 Email: stella@wildhavenstandrews.com.au Wildhaven is self funded.

Donations are appreciated and can be made as follows: Bank: Commonwealth Bank Bank Address: Diamond Creek 3089 BSB: 063 594 A/C: 1029 78 21 A/C Name: Wildhaven CTBAAU2S (swift code) (for overseas use) To view more wonderful photographs of Wildhaven and its wildlife please visit: http://wildhavenstandrews.com.au/contact.html

Children: We have found that with children, if we tell them they will forget, but if we can show them, they remember and understand. Children must be supervised by a teacher or parent at all times.

As you would appreciate, our main priority is the health and wellbeing of our wildlife. If you are willing to respect the needs of our wildlife and the ways we believe they need to be treated, you are welcome to come to Wildhaven and help us maintain the high standard of the enclosures and the health of our Wildlife.

We do not have the finances or the time to provide accommodation, food or transport for people wishing

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Alan with a corella and bottle feeding a kangaroo juvenile

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http://www.kangaroofootprints.com.au/

RESCUED!

Rescued is the first book of its kind in describing and bringing attention to the unsung heroes of wild animal care â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the wide range of wildlife rehabilitators throughout Australia and beyond who dedicate their lives to caring for wild animals who become orphaned, injured or sick. Many people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t realise how emotionally and financially draining this work can be, or that wildlife rehabilitators generally receive no government support.

Rescued! is in a soft back format, with a collection of 43 true stories about the work of wildlife rehabilitators. The book has colour illustrations and includes contributions from wildlife rehabilitators, veterinarians and veterinary nurses who have a professional working role in animal care.

This book is available NOW to purchase online for only $9.95 R.R.P. If you are a wildlife carer or organisation and are interested in purchasing copies to sell as a fundraising idea. This fantastic discounted price, allows you to sell the book at normal R.R.P of $15.95 or $19.95 at your Wildlife Centre.

http://www.fauna.org.au/Rescued.htm

Classifieds SPONSORSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

OUTDOOR CAMERAS AUSTRALIA Motion cameras for wildlife monitoring Ph: 07 4638 3939 Email: info@outdoorcameras.com.au Web: www.outdoorcameras.com.au

MICROCHIPS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD A wide range of portable, hand-held and remote monitoring readers for many different applications.

Tel: 03 9706 3100 Email: doug@microchips.com.au Web: www.microchips.com.au

SPECIALISED ANIMAL NUTRITION PTY LTD Oxbow Critcal Care for Herbivores - helps herbivores with poor nutrition. Great for Possums, wombats, macropods and other herbivores & reptiles.

Tel: 07 5525 1014 Email: enquiries@oxbowaustralia.com Web: www.oxbowaustralia.com

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Classifieds SPONSORSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

AUSTRALIAN WILDLIFE SUPPLIES PTY LTD 8/96 Gardens Drive Willawong Qld 4110 Ph/Fx 0754 268 088 Mb. 0417749501 Email: info@wildlifesupplies.com.au Web: www.wildlifesupplies.com.au Celebrating 10 Years in Business!

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Classifieds SPONSORSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

WILDLIFE VICTORIA We provide a vital emergency phone service to the community by responding to calls regarding sick, injured and orphaned wildlife.

Emergency Phone Service: 13 000 94535 Office Phone: 03 9445 0310 Email: office@wildlifevictoria.org.au Web: www.wildlifevictoria.org.au

SAFELY KEPT IN POUCH - JOEY BAGS Product: Kangaroo and Wallaby Joey Pouches.

Australian made. 100% cotton. Specially designed.

Email: Debbie_13@hotmail.com.au www.longgrasssystems.com.au/joeybags

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Classifieds SPONSORSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

ANNE-MARIE'S WILDLIFE SUPPLIES Herbal remedies for Thrush and E-Coli Homeopathic remedies Large selection of teats and stainless steel moulds Contact: (07) 5484 7354: E-mail: anmacropod @bigpond.com www.annemarieswildlife supplies.wordpress.com

POUCHED LIFE Hand made Hanging Bags, snuggly Mums, and pouches for kangaroo, wallaby and possum joeys. As seen on sale at the Wildlife Conferences Perth and Townsville.

Contact: 08 97543615 0417185011 Email: lesley@pouchedlife.com Web: www.pouchedlife.com

AUSTRALIAN BIRDS in Paintings and Reproduction Prints

by Artist Janet Flinn www.janetflinn.com jpflinn@bigpond.com

NATIVE WILDLIFE PRINTS by wildlife carer Samantha Tro Professionally printed using fine art papers and pigment inks.

Visit www.aussiecritters.com.au (discount for wildlife carers)

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Classifieds SPONSORS’

WOMBAT PROTECTION SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA The Society a Not for Profit Charitable Organisation raises money for projects that protect wombats, develop habitat, and supports research.

Tel: 02 64938245 Email: info@wombatprotection.org.au Web: www.wombatprotection.org.au/

SPRINGBROOK LYREBIRD RETREAT Private, secluded, rainforest holiday cabins for couples. All profits go to the Australian Rainforest Conservation Society's rainforest restoration project, Springbrook Rescue.

Tel: (07) 5533 5555 Em: info@lyrebirdspringbrook.com.au Web: www.lyrebirdspringbrook.com.au

Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary TA S M A N I A

Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary’s passion and work centres around helping our native wildlife survive.

We thrive on educating as many people as possible about how we can all help save, rehabilitate and release injured animals.

All of Bonorong’s ‘residents’ undergo meticulous assessments to ensure they are healthy and happy in our care.

www.bonorong.com.au/

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Classifieds SUPPORTERS’

ANITA NORRIS ANIMAL & WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER Apart from taking that special photo for you I offer a variety of products such as canvases/photo cards/enlargements, etc.

Phone: 03 97148855 Mobile: 0402087053 Email: anitanorris@bigpond.com Web: www.anitanorris.com

F.A.W.N.A. (NSW) Inc Licensed Wildlife Rescue Rehabilitation NSW Mid North Coast LGAs Port Macquarie-Hastings, Kempsey, Taree, Gloucester, Great Lakes, Stroud and Dungog Rescue telephone (02) 6581 4141 Email: fawna.nsw.inc@gmail.com Web: www.fawna.org.au

ARK WINE AGENCIES Wines, Organic Grape Juice, Gourmet Foods-Italy, France, Spain, Australia; Wine Appreciation Classes, Fundraising, supporting animal welfare longtime.

Tel: 02 9327 8883 Mob:0410 98 36 98 Email: info@arkwines.com Web: www.arkwines.com Facebook Page: Ark Wine Agencies

FREEDOM WHEELS Harley Davidson Trike & Bike Tours on the Sunshine Coast Contact: Tel: (07) 5485 3513 Email: info@freedomwheels.com.au Web: freedomwheels.com.au

FRIENDS OF THE POUND (TWEED) INC., We are a not for profit volunteer animal rescue group, please see our web for animals needing a forever home.

Tel: 0755248590 Mob:0439766243 (Cat) 0449049136 (Dog) Email: fop_info@yahoo.com.au Web: www.friendsofthepound.com

bankmecu Switch to a bank where the biggest shareholder is you. Every account comes with a share, say and benefits from our profits. Now that’s responsible banking bankmecu.com.au

HANCOCK HOUSE PUBLISHERS Rehabilitation Reference: Raptors in Captivity by Lori Arent ISBN 978-0-88839-613-6, 8.5 x 11 inches, hardcover, 304 pages, $49.95 [USD] Phone: (01) 604-538-1114 / 1-800-938-1114 Email: sales@hancockhouse.com Web: www.hancockhouse.com

BONORONG WILDLIFE SANCTUARY Protecting Tasmanian Wildlife 593 Briggs Road, Brighton, Tasmania 7030 Phone: (03) 6268 1184 Fax: (03) 6268 1811 Email: info@bonorong.com.au Website: www.bonorong.com.au

HOUNDSTOOTH STUDIO Houndstooth Studio is one of Australia's most successful pet and animal photography studios, photographing over 1200 animals each year.

Contact: 0413 174 069 Email: info@houndstoothstuido.com.au Web: www.houndstoothstudio.com.au Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HoundstoothStudio

CAT ENCLOSURE NETTING Specially designed and manufactured ACE Cat Netting available now for purchase for DIY! Ensure that our wildlife is safe, whilst at the same time providing a safe and happy environment for your pet.

Contact: Tel: 0438 139 045 E: enquiries@advancedcatenclosures.com.au Web: www.advancedcatenclosures.com.au

JACQUI CLEIJNE - SELF-TAUGHT ARTIST Depicting Tasmanian wildlife and wilderness in her beautiful interpretations of theState's unique native and domestic animal life.

Mob: 0437 171 421 Web: www.jacquicleijne.com.au

EAGLE'S NEST WILDLIFE HOSPITAL Aims to Rescue, Rehabilitate and Release injured & orphaned Australian native animals.

Ph: (07) 4097 6098 Email: eaglesnestwildlifehospital.org@gmail.com

JANET MATTHEWS Wildlife and Pencil artist Specialising in detailed, realistic drawings of our native wildlife, both animals and birds. Large and small artworks, including miniatures, (8cm x 9cm). Commissions accepted.

Tel- 0418 546 554 email janet@matthews.alphalink.com.au Website http://matthews.alphalink.com.au

EMBROIDME PENRITH EmbroidMe Penrith, is your full service Embroidery, Screen printing, Laser Engraving, tPromotional products & much more Service centre.

Tel: 1300 GET BRANDED Mob: 0425840276 Email: penrith@embroidme.com.au Web: www.penrithembroidery.com.au

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Classifieds SUPPORTERS’

JILL MORRIS Editor, Your Writing about Wildlife (for general audience/educational/children’s) Experienced author/editor/publisher Jill Morris can help you by editing your creative writing on wildlife.

Contact: Greater Glider Productions Email: jill@greaterglider.com.au Website: greaterglider.com.au Phone (07) 5494 3000

TAGS 'N TAILS~ PET & HORSE SITTING: offers pet owners of Penrith NSW & surrounds, exp. & trained mobile carers. Visiting ALL pets/horses daily; PH: 0404 630 904 email: tagsntails@live.com.au web: www.tagsntailspetminders.com

KANGAROO FOOTPRINTS A 72 page information and activity book for children aged 7 to 12.

Web: www.kangaroofootprints.com.au

PETJOURNO - PET EDITOR/WRITER Sydney, Australia Mob: 0403 550 730 Email: petjourno@gmail.com Website: www.petjournalist.com.au

PICTURE PRODUCTS Offering a fundraising product with a 60% margin, which captures the creative images of childhood.

Contact: Tel: (02) 4572 1625 Email: info@pictureproducts.com.au Web: www.pictureproducts.com.au

"KASH & KO" Live entertainment- country, Neil Diamond style, for your indoor or outdoor event (generator available).

2009 MO Award nominee...call Alan Mob: 0429 038 471 Email: alankash2003@gmail.com.au Web: www.shownet.com.au/alankash

PICTURE STORE Picture Store is Australia’s first and largest online poster, print and framing retailer offering over 150,000 prints and posters. We have art for everyone.

Tel: 1300 137 670 Email: info@picturestore.com.au Web: www. picturestore.com.au

LAZMAR AIRPORT TRANSFERS Private transfers for South East Queensland, specialising in Airport/Hotel transfers and private tours.

Tel: 0754767367 Mob: 0402918099 Email: lazmartransfers@optusnet.com.au Web: www.lazmarlimousines.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/lazmatransfer

PINE RIVERS KOALA CARE ASSOC. INC. We rescue & rehabilitate Koalas & all Native Wildlife - North Brisbane including Pine Rivers & Redcliffe.

We also pick up deceased koalas.

Contact 24/7 rescue No. 0401 350 799 Web: www.prkoalacare.com.au Email: prkcai@prkoalacare.com.au QUEENSLAND AGATE We sell 2 books “fossicking for Queensland Agate” and “Queensland fossicking Guide” Also Agates from Agate Creek Qld Tel: 0755243044 Mob:0429896703 Email: mazandy@live.com Web: www.queenslandagate.com.au

MAIN STREET GALLERY 167 MAIN STREET, MONTVILLE, QLD 4560 www.mainstreetgallery.com.au (07) 548785050 We carry an extensive range of Christopher Pope (wildlife artist) originals and prints. Please go to website.

MANGE MANAGEMENT Treating mange in free living wombats using the “Burrow Flap” method Contact Tel. 03 5942 8518 Email: info@management.org.au Web: www.mangemanagement.org.au

QUEENSLAND WILDLIFE ARTISTS SOCIETY 30th Anniversary Art Exhibition, The Old Schoolhouse Gallery, Cleveland January 18 - February 10th Open daily 9.30am - 4.30pm www.qwasi-wildlife.com 0407 126 908 for more details

MEL HILLS * WILD ART Wildlife and Landscape Art Tel: 0362535170 Mob:0448135517 Email: hills.mel@gmail.com Web:

QUOLL SEEKERS NETWORK Wildlife Preservation Society of Qld Adopt a Quoll program: $60.00 Great Christmas Gift Contact: (07) 3221 0194 Email: quoll@wildlife.org.au Web: www.wildlife.org.au

NOONIES DOG WALKING & PET CARE Dog Walking, Pet Care/Minding & Boarding (dogs, cats, horses, small caged animals), Pet Taxi. Operating in Sydney’s Inner West Mobile: 0411398395 Website: www.noonies.org Email: Darrin@noonies.org

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Classifieds SUPPORTERSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

SIRTRACK LTD Sirtrack specialise in the design & manufacture of wildlife tracking systems for Avian, Marine & Terrestrial species.

Contact: Tel: +64 6 877 7736 Email: sirtrack@sirtrack.com Web: www.sirtrack.com

THE HERBAL TEAPOT ONLINE SHOP Patrick Obrien, HH(Dip)MH, Herbalist Organic Herbal Teas Ph: 0408 711344 Email: patrick@netaccess.com.au Web1: www.home-herb-garden.com Web2: www.herbalteapot.com.au blogspot: http://patrickobrienseasyweightloss.blogspot.com/

ROBIN WINGRAVE NATURAL HISTORY ARTIST Finely detailed graphite pencil drawings or watercolour and oil paintings depicting the natural world of Australia.

Tel: 03 6334 9261 Email: winart26@gmail.com Web: www.robinwingrave.com

THRIFTY CAR RENTAL Huge range of vehicles to suit every ones needs.

03 63 330911 emma.tubb@thrifty.com.au www.thrifty.com.au

SHUCKER'S COTTAGES self contained private accommodation centrally situated,adjacent to Pelican Bay on the FREYCINET PENINSULA contact: tel. 0418579980 email: shuckerscottages@iprimus.com.au photos: shuckerscottages@blogspot.com

VETERINARY ADVANCES LTD Foal CPR, free App available for all horse owners and veterinarians.

Available through Apple iTunes store or see our website for more information: www.veterinaryadvances.com ZOODOO WILDLIFE PARK Australian Wildlife and Exotic Animals on display Ph: 03 6260 2444 Web: www.zoodoo.com.au

SILVERY GIBBON PROJECT INC. Raising funds and awareness to assist with the conservation of gibbons; especially the critically endangered Silvery (Javan) Gibbon.

Mob : 0438 992 325 Email : silverygibbon@live.com.au Website : http://www.silvery.org.au RAPTOR SNAKE HANDLING EQUIPMENT Endorsed by RSPCA and DPIPWE Check out our website or ring us www.snakehandlingequipment.com Phone: Ian Norton 0407 951 437

SOUTHERN BIRDING SERVICES Offering scheduled and private bird tours and expert bird guiding throughout Southern Australia Contact: Tel: (0409) 763172 Email: info@sabirding.com Web: www.sabirding.com

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN WILDLIFE REHABILITATION COUNCIL (WAWRC) Please visit our website Marketplace pages for Basik Syringes, Wildlife Rescue Vests, Mikki-style silicone teats, and much more http://www.wawrc.org.au

WILDLIFE AUSTRALIA MAGAZINE Published quarterly by Wildlife Queensland, we aim to educate, entertain and engage you in understanding and protecting all Australian wildlife. Proceeds fund wildlife projects.

Tel: 07 3221 0194 Email: wpsq@wildlife.org.au Web: www.wildlife.org.au Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/WildlifeQueensland WILDLIFE CARERS GROUP Offering rehabilitation of sick, injured, orphaned native wildlife, lobbying, running campaigns fighting to save and protect all native wildlife and their habitat under the wildlife protection laws , animal welfare and rights run solely by volunteers. Membership Availableplease email us only.

Email: wildlife_carers_group@yahoo.com.au Website: http://wcg.awardspace.com/ Wordpress: http://wildlifecarersgroup.wordpress.com/?sn=l Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1649024860&v=info Twitter: http://twitter.com/wildlifecarersg/ and please sign our 3 petitions.

STOP LIVE EXPORTS A Fremantle-based grassroots organisation campaigning against cruel and unnecessary live animal exports since 1995. Please join us!

Tel: 08 9430 8839 Email: info@stopliveexports.org Web: www.stopliveexports .org

TERRA-FIRMA Ecological Consulting & Landscape Design.

Providing professional Ecological Assessments, Ecological Restoration Plans, Landscape Designs and Project Management on the Sunshine Coast and throughout SE Qld. PO Box 9522 Pacific Paradise Qld 4564 Tel: 0431 462 828 Web: terrafirma@flexinet.com.au

ELIZABETH COGLEY Australian Wildlife Artist Web: www.ozwildart.com

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Classifieds SUPPORTERSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

LATROBE WILDLIFE SANCTUARY NESTBOXES Huge variety of nestboxes Ph: 03 9479 1206 Email: nestboxes@latrobe.edu.au Web: www.latrobe.edu.au/wildlife

Southern Wildlife Rescue & Care 0466 888 107 or 0415 375 164 Email: southernwildliferc@gmail.com www.southernwildlife.org

Native Animal Rescue Tel: 08 9249 3434 Email: enquiries@nativeanimalrescue.org.au Web: www.nativeanimalrescue.org.au

WILDLIFE FRIENDLY FENCING & NETTING Protect the wildlife today!

Web: www.wildlifefriendlyfencing.com

F.O.C. WILDLFIE PROGRAM Friends of Carers - 24hr volunteer wildlife assistance service for Tasmania For more information contact Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary Ph: 03 6268 1184 Email: petra@bonorong.com.au

FOURTH CROSSING WILDLIFE Fauna First Aid Program - wombat and macropod training available Email: linda@fourthcrossingwildlife.com Web: www.fourthcrossingwildlife.com

Tasmania Zoo 116 Ecclestone Rd, Riverside, Launceston,Tasmania Tel: 03 6396 6100 Email: info@tasmaniazoo.com.au www.tasmaniazoo.com.au

A Kanga A Day Sign up to receive a free daily picture of Brett Clifton's beautiful Eastern Grey Kangaroos Email: brett@brettclifton.com http://brettclifton.com/wordpress/?p=2722

ROCKLILY WOMBATS Online shop of unique wildlife gifts Web: www.rocklilywombats.com

Bruce Bain Photography Tel: 03 6397 8363 Email: brucebain@activ8.net.au http://brucebainphotography.com.au

BURSTON BLUE TEATS Silicone Wildlife Teats Enquiries to Jo. Ph: 0409 086 973 Email: dollar.downs@bigpond.com

Trowunna Wildlife Park 1892 Mole Creek Road, Mole Creek, Tasmania 7304 Tel: 03 6363 6162 Email: info@trowunna.com.au www.trowunna.com.au

NATIONAL KOALA CONFERENCE 17-19 May 2013 at Westport Conference Centre, Buller Street, Port Macquarie NSW Australia Web: http://www.koalahospital.org.au/

Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park Port Arthur Hway, Taranna, Tasmania 7180 Ph: 03 6250 3230 Email: info@tasmaniandevilpark.com www.tasmaniandevilpark.com

GERALDINE SIMMONS Wildlife Artist Web: www.geraldineswildlifeart.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/geraldineswildlifeart

Kimberley Wildlife Rescue inc.

Ph: 08 9169 1229 or 0438 015 881 Email: kimberleywildlife@westnet.com.au

ADVANCED ASBESTOS COATING We are the only product/coating system made specifically for encapsulating and /or coating asbestos Tel: 1800 200 444 Mob: 0418 711 945 Email: adv_asbestos.@iprimus.com.au Web: advancedasbestoscoating.com

Kimberley Vet Centre Kununurra WA 6743 Ph: 08 9169 1229 or 0407 6910229 Tolga Bat Hospital 134 Carrington Road, Atherton, Queensland Ph: 07 4091 2683 www.tolgabathospital.org

Wildlife Monitoring Ph: 1300 103 101 Email: sales@wildlifemonitoring.com.au Web: www.wildlifemonitoring.com.au

Batworld Sanctuary Inc Texas - United States of America Email: sanctuary@batworld.org http://batworld.org https://www.facebook.com/batworld

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Classifieds SUPPORTERSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Animalia Wildlife Shelter Ph: 07 9789 0400 or 0435 822 699 Email: animalia.shelter@gmail.com www.animaliawildlife.org.au

Animal Experience International AEI empowers students, professionals, animal lovers and adventure seekers to travel by providing exceptional volunteer adventures with domestic an dwild animals around the world.

Email: info@animalei.com Web: www.animalexperienceinternational.com

Boo and the Big Storm - New Book Author: Wendy Lawrence Illustrated by Glen Vause http://wildpublishing.com.au/wp/ https://www.facebook.com/Boobookstorm

Halo of Mooloolaba Hair/beauty.nails/tanning Available: Mon-Sat,Wed & Thurs late nights Tel: (07) 5452 5540 Email: halo_mooloolaba@bigpond.com Web: www.halo-mooloolaba.com.au

UOVISION AUSTRALIA UOVision Trail Camera products Head Office: Units 3-4, 72-76 Fenton street, Huntingdale Vic 3166 Ph: 1300 305 559 or 0439 445 507 Email: sales@uovision.com.au www.uovision.com.au

BestGameCamera.com BestGameCamera.com offers wireless and non-wireless trail cameras.

Receive pictures straight to your cell phone in the matter of 60 seconds. $40 international shipping.

Contact (800) 257-9532 Email: info@bestgamecamera.com Web: www.BestGameCamera.com

East Coast Natureworld 18356 Tasman Highway, Bicheno, Tasmania Ph: 03 6375 1311 http://www.natureworld.com.au/

Inala-Bruny Island Accommodation and personalised tours on 500 acre private wildlife reserve. Stay and see our abundant wildlife including hand-reared orphans!

Phone: 03 6293 1217 Email: inala@inalabruny.com.au Web: www.inalabruny.com.au

Tasmanian Fox Prevention Ph: 1300 FOX OUT (1300 369 688) www.dpipwe.tas.gov.au/fox

Rescued Book 43 Rescue stories in one book - get yours today! www.fauna.org.au/Rescued.htm

Get Trapped Humane Cage Traps / Wildlife Monitoring Cameras Product: Large range of humane traps, products & accessories available.

Contact: Tel: 0421 630 945 Email: peter@getttrapped.com.au Web: www.gettrapped.com.au

Kevin Baker Author of 'Puggle in a Pocket' & 'Wombat in the House' books recommended by Wildlife Rescue Magazine. Get yours today! http://wildliferescuemagazine.com/wildlife-books.html Minton Farm Animal Rescue Centre Ph: 08 8270 1169 Email: mintonfarm@adam.com.au Web: www.mintonfarm.com.au

Wildlife Nestboxes Attract native wildlife with this proven habitat system designed from scientific research and extensive field trials that's easy to install.

Tel: 0427 591 269 Email: miles@wildlifenestboxes.com.au Web: www.wildlifenestboxes.com.au

Catriona Hoy - Children's Author Puggle - Author Catriona Hoy & illustrator Andrew Plant http://www.catrionahoy.com.au/books/puggle.html https://www.facebook.com/pages/Catriona-Hoy-childrensauthor/274783726960

Wild Watch Australia Phone: (07) 4097 7408 Mobile: 0429 438 064 Email: wildwatch@skymesh.com.au Email2: info@wildwatch.com.au Web: www.wildwatch.com.au

Wombaroo Food Products / Passwell Pty Ltd PO Box 151, Glen Osmond, SA 5064 Ph 08 8391 1713 Fax 08 8391 1713 www.wombaroo.com.au

The Reptile Doctor The Reptile Doctor is a department within Karingal Veterinary Hospital dedicated to providing high quality veterinary care for reptiles and amphibians.

Tel: (03) 9789 3444 Email: info@thereptiledoctor.com.au Web: www.thereptiledoctor.com.au Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheReptileDoctor

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