- Title: Volunteers struggle to save wild animals as Australia bushfires rage
- Date: 30th December 2019
- Summary: BLUE MOUNTAINS, AUSTRALIA (DECEMBER 29, 2019) (REUTERS) BURNT AND INJURED BRUSHTAIL POSSUM DRINKING WATER (SOUNDBITE) (English) W.I.R.E.S. (WILDLIFE INFORMATION, RESCUE AND EDUCATION SERVICES) VOLUNTEER CARER AND RESCUER, TRACY BURGESS, SAYING: "All four paws are burnt, her nose has been burnt, her ears are both burnt. All of that, I'm ok with, I mean, I'm sure she's not ok but she's on pain meds so she's ok with it. My biggest concern is the eyes. This eye closest to me, her right eye, certainly got smoke damage. But, my concern is that, may have burnt the eyelids and so skin retracts and becomes really stiff when it's burnt. So, if it affects her vision, so we're going to have trouble." BURNT AND INJURED BRUSHTAIL POSSUM DRINKING WATER (SOUNDBITE) (English) W.I.R.E.S. (WILDLIFE INFORMATION, RESCUE AND EDUCATION SERVICES) VOLUNTEER CARER AND RESCUER, TRACY BURGESS, SAYING: "When I tried to get to the pouch she wouldn't let me go anywhere near the pouch. She started to kick and didn't want me anywhere near her pouch. So, once I got her into the vet, it took two of us to hold her down in order to have a look in the pouch and once we go the pouch open, a tiny little hand came out with claws on it. So, yeah, there's a pinkie (unfurred baby possum) in there. Very little baby unfurred possum. So she's a ferocious mother who has clearly done her best for her bub." PINKIE CLAW POKING OUT OF POUCH BURN OINTMENT BEING APPLIED TO EARS AND PAWS VARIOUS OF BURNT BUSHLAND BEHIND JENNY BIBAOUI'S HOUSE VARIOUS OF JENNY BIBAOUI AND TRACY BURGESS LOOKING AT WHERE RINGTAIL POSSUM WAS FOUND LOCATION WHERE RINGTAIL POSSUM WAS FOUND (SOUNDBITE) (English) LOCAL RESIDENT, JENNY BIBAOUI SAYING: "This summer in particular, we've noticed a lot of kangaroos in the bush just behind our fence and even on the street, come dusk time. They're looking for food and water because it's been so dry, and the drought, nothing is growing. So, lots of birds, wildlife and kangaroos mostly. Haven't actually seen any possums, so that was quite shocking for me to see the little guy in the eaves." RINGTAIL POSSUM FOUND AT BIBAOUI'S HOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (English) W.I.R.E.S. (WILDLIFE INFORMATION, RESCUE AND EDUCATION SERVICES) VOLUNTEER CARER AND RESCUER, TRACY BURGESS, SAYING: "It had escaped from the fire, thankfully it wasn't burnt or anything. But, severely dehydrated because it has been up there for a few days and refused to move." BURGESS HOLDING RINGTAIL POSSUM IN TOWEL (SOUNDBITE) (English) W.I.R.E.S. (WILDLIFE INFORMATION, RESCUE AND EDUCATION SERVICES) VOLUNTEER CARER AND RESCUER, TRACY BURGESS, SAYING: "We don't know (what's happening to the wild animals). We're not getting that many animals coming into care. So, our concern is that they don't come into care because they're not there anymore, basically. Areas like, Clarence, Bell, Blackheath, Mount Vic (Mount Victoria) were just decimated. The fires just ripped through there so quickly. Birds could get away, so the birds are still around. But, things like possums, kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, echidnas, all of them, we're just not getting the call out. So, we I don't know." VARIOUS OF WILD KING PARROTS FEEDING OFF BIRD SEED BLOCK ON JENNY BIBAOUI'S BALCONY (SOUNDBITE) (English) W.I.R.E.S. (WILDLIFE INFORMATION, RESCUE AND EDUCATION SERVICES) VOLUNTEER CARER AND RESCUER, TRACY BURGESS, SAYING: "There's no food. So, it's all well and good to say that's the rule but we're loosening that at this point in time, and yes we are encouraging people to feed food to the animals in the bushfire affected areas and on the website and various locations, we've got what you can feed them. There's fruit and there's veggies and seed." RINGTAIL POSSUM IN TOWEL BLUE MOUNTAINS, AUSTRALIA (DECEMBER 30, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF TRACY DODD, WIRES VOLUNTEER CARER AND RESCUER HOLDING INJURED KANGAROO (SOUNDBITE) (English) W.I.R.E.S. (WILDLIFE INFORMATION, RESCUE AND EDUCATION SERVICES) VOLUNTEER CARER AND RESCUER TRACY DODD SAYING: "So, we'll go and find the kangaroo. Ascertain how bad its injuries are. If I can get close enough I can sedate it and then we can bring it into the vet. If we need to get a darter, a man with a dart gun will come out and he can shoot it from a distance and we take them to the vet and then they come in to be rehabilitated." KANGAROO JACK'S FACE (SOUNDBITE) (English) W.I.R.E.S. (WILDLIFE INFORMATION, RESCUE AND EDUCATION SERVICES) VOLUNTEER CARER AND RESCUER TRACY DODD SAYING: "Kangaroo Jack came from Clarence and he was just sitting under a bush and his mum was not too far away but he was obviously not well enough to hop around. So, he needed some help, so we picked him up and he was very dehydrated. So, he had lots of fluids and now he's off to the vet." KANGAROO JACK BEING HELD BY DODD
- Embargoed: 13th January 2020 02:50
- Keywords: Australia blaze burnt bushfires carer kangaroo possum rescue smoke volunteer wildlife
- Location: BLUE MOUNTAINS, AUSTRALIA
- City: BLUE MOUNTAINS, AUSTRALIA
- Country: Australia
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Wildfires/Forest Fires,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001BC61A9Z
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A singed and dehydrated brushtail possum laps up water from a bowl held by one of many Australians seeking to help the wild animals which have been caught up in raging bushfires.
The marsupial was found sitting on the front door mat of a house in the town of Clarence, about 100 kilometres from Sydney, an area decimated by recent bushfires. Tracy Burgess, a W.I.R.E.S. (Wildlife Information, Rescue And Education Services) volunteer was called to rescue the possum. It was taken to the vet and given intravenous hydration fluids and Burgess is now looking after it round the clock at her house.
"When I tried to get to the pouch she wouldn't let me go anywhere near the pouch. She started to kick and didn't want me anywhere near her pouch. So, once I got her into the vet, it took two of us to hold her down in order to have a look in the pouch and once we go the pouch open, a tiny little hand came out with claws on it. So, yeah, there's a pinkie (unfurred baby possum) in there. Very little baby unfurred possum. So she's a ferocious mother who has clearly done her best for her bub," Burgess added.
There are no official counts or estimates of how wildlife has been affected by the deadly bushfires that have destroyed more than 4 million hectares (9.9 million acres) in five states since September. The fire and heat are either killing the native fauna such as kangaroos, wallabies, wombats and echidnas, or driving them out of the bushland and into people’s homes.
With severely burnt feet and suffering dehydration, "Kangaroo Jack", was found by a little girl near the town of Clarence on Sunday (December 29) A W.I.R.E.S volunteer was called and the kangaroo was taken to the vet where it was treated and is now recovering.
But such cases are becoming rare.
"We don't know (what's happening to the wild animals). We're not getting that many animals coming into care. So, our concern is that they don't come into care because they're not there anymore, basically," said Burgess.
W.I.R.E.S and other groups usually discourage people from feeding wild animals but with the hot weather and bushfires they are encouraging people to help as much as possible by providing food and water.
On Christmas Day, local resident Jenny Bibaoui's niece found a ringtail possum hiding in the eaves of her house. W.I.R.E.S was called again and Burgess had another possum in her care.
"This summer in particular, we've noticed a lot of kangaroos in the bush just behind our fence and even on the street, come dusk time. They're looking for food and water because it's been so and the drought, nothing is growing. So, lots of birds wildlife and kangaroos mostly," said Bibaoui.
With limited government funds, W.I.R.E.S rely heavily on donations from the public and people like Burgess to care for sick or injured animals.
(Production: Jill Gralow, Masako Iijima) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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