All Animal Rescuers

09/06/2025

We received a call from a resident of a 7th floor apartment who witnessed a pigeon collide with his window and then land on his balcony. The pigeon appeared to be disoriented and had sustained a leg injury, rendering it unable to stand on one leg or fly.

Consequently, the resident contacted us for assistance. While we arranged for a rescue, the member of the public successfully contained the pigeon in a box, providing it with water and ensuring its safety.

Upon my arrival, I observed that the pigeon was underweight, suggesting it had been lost for an extended period and unable to access food. Fortunately, the pigeon had leg bands bearing contact information, which enabled me to reach out to her owner. The owner arranged to collect her later that day, and whilst in our care, she hungrily ate some food, which hopefully alleviated her distress.

Please tag or chip your birds to ensure that they can be reunited with you swiftly should they get lost and found. So glad this little one was who is now on her way to recovery with her family where she belongs.

08/06/2025

We had a call last week from an elderly woman who had witnessed two magpies having a battle in her garden the day prior that had then moved to her roof before finally one flew away. Since then though she had heard a continually scratching sound coming from one corner so suspected there was still a magpie up there and possibly trapped.

I climbed up my ladder to discover she was correct. A poor adult male magpie was stuck in the gutter under some tiles and despite obvious frantic attempts over the last 24 hours to free himself, was still hopelessly trapped.

It didn't take long to carefully lift a couple of tiles up then gently ease the poor thing out and secure in my rescue basket to be carried back down the ladder for assessment. He was completely exhausted and quite flat, unable to stand. Covered in hardened mud from the gutter his wings and feathers on one side of his body were stuck together and his shoulder had been scraped down to the bone with his attempts to get out from under the rough tiles.

I took him straight to the amazing team at Melbourne Bird Veterinary Clinic who always go above and beyond for our wildlife. By the next day I was thrilled to hear the bird had regained some strength and was now standing and eating on his own. There were no fractures however the wound on his shoulder was quite nasty so they wanted to keep him in a bit longer for treatment and to ensure it was going to heal to enable flight. Last reports was doing well.

29/05/2025

We were recently alerted to reports of a stray cat hanging around a suburban industrial shopping area that was foraging in the rubbish bins for food. When approached he would take off and was wary of people.

Locals had attempted to catch and although he was clearly very hungry and ravaged down any food left out, he would run away when attempts were made to go near him.

So I attended with a cat trap and set it up in bushes near where he had been seen. Although attempts had been made earlier in the night to capture him by locals and he had run off into a nearby park and was last seen in a drain, knowing he was very hungry I was confident he would soon return.

I parked my car nearby and was able to sit inside it and watch the spot where the trap was, expecting to possibly be there 'staking him out' for at least a couple of hours.

Within 20 mins he appeared and went straight to where I had placed a food trail leading to the trap. I watched as he wolfed it all down then could see him sniffing the air looking for more. He then disappeared into the bushes where the trap was and another bowl of food was waiting for him inside of it. I counted to 10 then slowly got out of my car and approached the area. When I got to the trap I looked and there he was safely secured inside, meowing and trying frantically to find a way out.

I covered the trap with the cat inside with a blanket to calm him down, and put it inside my car. I then phoned a local cat foster carer that I knew well and asked if I could bring him straight to her. I had a microchip scanner on board but needed to get him somewhere secure so I could get him out of the trap without the risk of him then running off again in order to scan him. Up until this point he had appeared to be quite wild, possibly feral, so may be difficult to handle so needed two people to manage him just in case.

She agreed for me to come immediately which I did. We locked ourselves with him (still inside the cat trap) into a small bare room and I donned welding gloves and had a towel ready as I prepared to remove him from the cage and attempt to scan him. As I reached inside I was surprised to find him calm and not adverse to being touched and he allowed me to gently remove him from the cat trap cage. Once out I was easily able to hold him with him being now quite calm so I removed my gloves and patted him. He enjoyed it and allowed me to appearing to relax completely. Unfortunately he didn't have a microchip and upon examination we found him very skinny with his long fur extremely matted and entangled, which would have been painful for him where it pulled on his delicate skin.

I left him with the carer purring and sleepy on a soft bed with food and water nearby. He seemed very content.

Next day she took him to the vet who again scanned him to confirm definitely no microchip. He needed a complete shave as his fur was in such bad condition as well as treatment for some minor cuts and abrasions, parasite treatment as well as vaccinations.

The vet couldn't believe how calm he was during the examination as well as the shave down, as most cats needed to be sedated for that. This one purred and kneaded his paws throughout!

We are now trying to find his owner as he recovers with the amazing foster carer. If not found, he will be available for adoption in due course.

19/05/2025

This poor ringtail was spotted stuck in a fence on a fairly busy suburban street in the middle of the day. We assume she had been there since at least the night before, but nobody had looked down and noticed her until a passer-by walking past finally did.

When I arrived she was exhausted from her struggles, but still managed a weak attempt to resist me when I put my hand around her to gently unwedge her from the wire fence, which didn't take long to do. She simply had to go backwards to get out, but she had kept trying to move forwards which was why she stayed stuck.

I hoped that she hadn't sustained any severe internal injuries or bleeding, but sadly discovered that it appeared she had been poisoned hence was why she was unusually on the ground to begin with. Along with severe bruising around her ribs from the fence, she unfortunately couldn't be saved as the poison had already taken hold and she was in her final stages.

At least she was warm, comfortable and safe in the end.

19/05/2025

This muscovy duck was spotted hanging out at a service station in Endeavour Hills for several hours today not wanting to leave. As it grew dark and was getting late the manager called us to help as was concerned for the duck's welfare.

When I arrived I discovered the poor thing had an injured leg and was clearly thirsty as was trying to drink from the oily puddles in between the fuel pumps. After evading capture for several minutes (as he was able to fly) I managed to catch the limping duck and safely secure him. Back at home he enjoyed some food and fresh water and a soft hay bed to sleep on for the night. He will be given a vet check tomorrow.

15/05/2025

Please microchip your pets including your birds, and most importantly - keep the information on them up to date!

If you move house, change phone number and/or email address, or rehome your pet - make sure their microchip reflects these changes!

One in three pets will get lost in their lifetime with 40% of animals being unable to be reunited with their families.

I have scanned two animals this week with my initial relief that they were actually chipped soon become frustration upon finding one had an incorrect phone number, and the other having details of a previous owner and not the current one. After a bit of tracking down both owners were eventually found, though took several hours for one and several days for the other.

Please chip your animals and keep them updated.

06/05/2025

Important message in this post. Please be mindful of any fishing tackle that may be left behind if you have been fishing. Take it with you if you can.

This grey-headed flying fox was found in Bendigo, hanging from a tree by a fishing hook pierced through her mouth and nostril.

Nobody knows how long she was trapped like this. But we do know why.

It’s a miracle she’s even alive.

If it weren’t for the dedicated wildlife carers now tending to her, her fate could have been very different.

Sadly, many animals caught like this aren’t so lucky – their injuries are often so severe that euthanasia is the only humane option.

This is the brutal reality of discarded fishing gear. Carelessly left behind, it becomes a weapon of slow, agonising suffering.
She’s one of the lucky ones. Most are never found in time.

She is not the first animal to be found strung up on a tree in discarded fishing gear.

A corella in Bundoora was left hanging from a branch for days before anyone noticed.

A tawny frogmouth was discovered in Tuerong, hanging by a wing.

A juvenile kookaburra was found with a large fishing lure pierced through their mouth.

Pelicans, turtles, dolphins – even beloved companion animals – have all fallen victim to carelessly discarded fishing gear.

It’s a widespread, preventable crisis. And it's costing countless lives.

Wildlife carers have reported a troubling rise in native animals becoming entangled in fishing gear – a spike that directly correlates with the Allan Government’s children’s fishing initiative.

Promoted as a way to get more kids into recreational fishing (as if duck shooting wasn’t already enough sanctioned cruelty), the government is distributing 95,000 fishing kits to nearly 2,000 schools across Victoria.

Originally announced by Jacinta Allan in 2022, the $1.5 million ‘Little Anglers’ program includes a rod and reel, tackle box, and an eight-page ‘Kids’ Guide to Fishing’.

It’s run by the Victorian Fisheries Authority, aka, the same government agency now facing criticism for staff cuts and weakened enforcement, leading to increased illegal fishing activities directly impacting both wildlife and their habitats.

Because what could possibly go wrong handing out thousands of fishing rods to children with little oversight?

Plenty. Just ask the wildlife rescuers dealing with the fallout.

While we can’t trace whether a child was responsible for these animals caught in fishing gear – we do know that if adults are already setting poor examples and failing to teach safe fishing practices, it’s no surprise the same harmful habits are passed down.

When a snagged fishing line is simply cut and left behind, it poses a serious threat to native wildlife. Birds, bats, and other animals can easily become entangled, often with fatal consequences.

That’s why wildlife shelters and advocates are calling for a matching $1.5 million investment – this time in education, not equipment.

Thankfully, this grey-headed flying fox is on track to make a full recovery.

She’s finished her triage and stabilisation and will now join other bats in care to heal and socialise.

Her release will have to wait until her mouth has fully healed – but she’s hanging in there in the meantime.

01/05/2025

This poor cockatoo had been seen on a regular basis by an elderly lady who knew he must be struggling to survive. She reached out for help and I attended and we worked out a plan to try to catch him. Within a few hours he was safely contained where we could get a proper look at his condition.

Suffering from PBFD (also known as beak and feather disease) his beak had overgrown which would have made it difficult for him to eat or preen. He was losing his feathers with his beautiful sulphur crest already gone, and the rest thinning on his body, though he could still at this stage fly. With the colder weather already here, he would have felt the cold and likely would have died from hypothermia if not sooner from starvation by winter.

PBFD is also highly contagious to other parrots. So whilst this one was fighting his daily struggle to survive, likely visiting homes he could find that had bird feeders with seed put out for an easy meal, he was also spreading the disease to other vulnerable birds.

There is sadly no cure at this stage for the disease.

18/04/2025

This noisy miner had slipped down an elderly man's chimney and was now unable to get itself back up again to freedom. After a couple of days of hearing scratching noises coming from his fireplace he finally realised what was making the sound and called for help.

Didn't take long for me to get him out, and after a quick checkover he was released outside where he clearly was very happy to be once more!

15/04/2025

Another magpie needing help today. This poor girl's leg had become stuck between the palings of a fence and the more she wriggled to free herself the further down and stuck she became. Luckily the elderly resident's little dog alerted her to it's presence so she called for help. Unsure how long she had been stuck for, but luckily there was no major injuries except a few missing feathers.

14/04/2025

My daughter came across this deceased flying fox on the ground and called me to help. Many people would have likely walked past and noticed it as was on an inner suburban street, but seeing it was obviously dead continued on their way without doing anything further.

What can/should you do?

Did you know that female flying foxes carry their babies with them from when they are born for the first few weeks of their lives? The babies cling to their fur fastended to their ni**le. If she dies, there is the chance her young babies are still clinging to her and are alive, or perhaps have even been thrown from her when she has fallen, and are nearby needing help.

You should only handle a living bat if you are an experienced/vaccinated rescuer, however you can if able and confident to, use a towel and/or gloves to check if the deceased bat is male or female. If female you may be able to spot babies or at least call your nearest Wildlife Rescue Organisation to come and check. If male contact your local council to come and remove the body.

The poor male flying fox my daughter found had been electrocuted on powerlines above and had fallen to the ground. The singed rips in his wings can be seen in the pics.

14/04/2025

We had a prickly passenger recently when we had the privilege of taking an echidna who had been at the vet, back to be released to it's home. Unlike most birds and animals who take off in excitement when let out of captivity, echidnas like to celebrate in their own special way. By immediately burying themselves...... Welcome home big guy!