25/06/2025
Why we wildlife carers do what we do...
And how YOU can help.
Our calling is 24/7, but there are times when we desperately NEED our communities to pull together with us.
In times of fire, floods or other natural or man-made disasters, our government has many support teams and systems in place for humans and livestock.
But what about our wildlife??
There are NO government organisations devoted to wildlife recovery, rescue, or long term rehabilitation after a natural disaster!!
The only support comes from SELF-FUNDED VOLUNTEER WILDLIFE CARERS AND GROUPS!!
We are the ones who go out and do the black walks, respond to the callouts for injured or stranded animals, and offer advice, guidance and support to locals, NOT our government.
We don't often ask for help, but if we DO put out the call for help, it's because the need is just too great, and we need our community's support to help us and our unique wildlife get through the crisis!!
So, if disaster strikes near you, in the days and weeks that follow, please spare a thought for our wildlife and the amazing volunteer carers working behind the scenes. They will need as many extra and varied hands as possible!
Check your local community pages to keep up-to-date of wildlife sightings or strandings, and use it to share information with other carers and concerned locals.
And, if the call goes out like in the post below, PLEASE get involved!
COMMUNITY SUPPORT is the greatest strength we have, so please get involved if you can!
Our weird wildlife says thanks.🥰💕
Nobody Came...
An open letter from Stacy Whitehorse BAppSc (Ag), BVet&WildlifeSc, MScVetForensicSc, Cert1V Captive Animal Management
Not far from the Grampians fire, about 100km distant, there was an equally important fire that was largely overlooked, as it was in a less famous and less economically important area. The Little Desert National Park Bushfire, 27th January 2025. While the Grampians lost 76,000 ha over several weeks to the fires, the Little Desert lost 96,000 ha over two days, with 65,000 ha burned in the first day alone.
As the only wildlife shelter in this area, the task for me, the lone shelter operator, was immense. There are no networks of shelters here, nor are there networks of volunteers to help. Following the order to evacuate from my little village, Gerang Gerung, where one house was lost, the stress of not knowing what I would find when I was able to sneak back the next day was very real.
Two days after the fire, I was asked to address the township of Dimboola to give the residents a heads up in relation to what wildlife might do after the fires and what people can do to help. The fires were still active on the town perimeter, and everyone was nervous. I can't express the overwhelming distress of my situation, 96,000ha gone, and just me to help the wildlife. Nobody came to help. Why? Because the Grampians are a high-value tourist destination. The welfare of the animals here in the Little Desert didn't seem to have the same importance as it did to them. Yet every life matters.
First, a singed Tawny Frogmouth came into my shelter on day two, then other birds came, with singed feathers, burnt airways, and eyes. Macropods were few. They simply couldn't outrun the fires. The phone calls came in from farmers telling me of mobs and mobs of roos, sometimes fifty at a time, burnt to death at their farm perimeters and fencing. They were euthanising the worst-affected on the farms while the desert was still burning, and amazing firefighters were working on the enormous task of controlling the fires.
Where were the organisations that say they care for the wildlife? Where were Wildlife Victoria and their travelling vets, Vets For Compassion, Animals Australia and others? Nobody came.
I patrolled the eastern side of the desert every two days, removing dead and dying animals from the roads. The smell of burnt bush and the smell of death were there for over a week. The guilt I experienced was huge because I couldn't get to the western side of the desert, not enough time in the day, and not enough financial resources to go out there. While other shelters were receiving huge donations, I was using my savings. Only because nobody came.
Now I patrol twice a week, not to remove the dying, but to watch for the few roos that managed to survive, see how they are coping. From a kangaroo mum with her joey at foot, to small mobs whose numbers have been fluctuating. I'm not allowed to feed in the national park, and goodness knows where they are getting water. But a few are hanging in. We are now in this terrible drought. The desert got 2mm of rain last week, the first drop since November 2024. I'm watching for any regrowth, but nothing, no shoots, no birds, no small mammals or reptiles. The only birds are the occasional corvids. The Wedgies are gone; nothing for them to eat. As far as the eye can see, the banksias are black with no growth. These were the homes of the pygmy possums, gliders, and the little birds, all perished under the ferocity of the fire. Only the grass trees are hanging in there on the white sand.
I can't express as a wildlife rehabilitator and as a person, how I feel about the wildlife tragedy that unfolded (and continues to unfold) in the Little Desert National Park, it is all encompassing, the fire, the drought, and just me doing what I can. I struggle every day with the knowledge that there was so much more that could have been done to help the wildlife.
But nobody came.
