Five Freedoms Animal Rescue

26/06/2024

Who doesn’t love a fresh comfy bed on a cold and rainy day?

Well, until dinner arrives.

20/06/2024

Arthur Daly, “helping” lay out the fresh straw..

12/06/2024

This is a very difficult post for me to write. It has taken a few attempts.

During my birthday weekend just gone, I experienced the very best in people, i.e. from my friends and family. But I also experienced the worst that humankind has to offer.

Late on Saturday night, I heard sounds of nearby rifle shots, which was something not uncommon over a long weekend when you live in a forest environment. These shots were very close. I immediately rushed to my car to head out and investigate. I was home alone. As I got to my front gate, I heard another 2 loud bangs, and I could see lights a short distance down the road. They had a spotlight aimed to the left of their vehicle, into the forest. As soon as I turned onto the road, the vehicle took off. I tried to follow it and get some details for identification, but they drove at an unbelievable and reckless speed. I had no hope of gaining on them and I eventually lost sight of their taillights.

I returned to where they were parked and discovered a kangaroo body laying behind bushes near the road, surrounded by a mass of blood. She was dead. Her pouch contained a large active joey. Given the proximity to our property, the shot kangaroo must have been one of ours, but I couldn’t easily recognise her as much of her face was blown away. It wasn’t a clean kill, and I can’t bear to think of the suffering she must have endured. Two empty cartridge cases, from a high-powered rifle, lay by the roadside. I needed Helen’s help to identify who we had lost. After receiving my disturbing and distressed call, Helen raced back home from Melbourne.

I phoned 000 and police arrived while I was searching for more dead or wounded animals, as I heard 5 shots in total. I couldn’t find any other animals and we will be left to perform nerve-wracking headcounts for many nights to come.

The killed kangaroo was our Sandy. We raised her from a joey 6 years ago and she has been an integral matriarch of our mob ever since. She has had joeys that also live on our property as part of our forest family, and now we have her orphan, a little velvet girl called Dusty to care for.

I don’t know if this was a targeted gun attack, which wouldn’t be the first time, or simply an opportunistic bit of fun by morons enjoying a Saturday night, perhaps camping up the road in the forest somewhere. Because of previous incidents with members of the shooting fraternity targeting us, we fitted trail cameras onto trees along the roadside and around our property. The cameras perform OK in the daytime but are ineffective for obtaining detail after dark - when bright headlights and spotlights blur any images. I had nothing recorded which could help the police in their investigation. As a result, this crime will go unprosecuted.

We are overwhelmed with despair, frustration, and anger. I spent my birthday morning burying Sandy. We can’t allow this to happen to our animals. Our beautiful and gentle kangaroos deserve better. We deserve better. We desperately need better cameras to help catch these kinds of bastards. The cameras must be capable of night time surveillance and be able to capture registration plate details under all conditions. The cameras must also be protected in metal security boxes and locked onto trees to prevent damage and theft. We need about $5700 to purchase suitable equipment. We will call them SandyCams.

We are therefore asking for donations to help with the purchase of this camera equipment. For anyone wishing to help, you can donate via PayPal per my website fivefreedoms.com.au or deposit funds directly into the following account:

East Trentham Wildlife Shelter
Bank: Bendigo Bank
BSB: 633000
Acc No: 157239781

Please note that we are not a registered charity, nor can we offer tax-deductibility for donations.

Thank you, and sorry for having to post this story and ask for your help.

05/06/2024

It is always a challenge to keep up with paperwork at a wildlife shelter - wildlife records, rescue and care sheets, medical documentation, expense accounting, business bookwork, and of course Tax Returns, which are almost due again.

The YouTube clip below from 5 years ago demonstrates some of the difficulty.

Tax time is a taxing time, especially when a kangaroo is your “assistant”....Wonder if the ATO has heard this excuse before.... At least I have video evidence!

02/06/2024

On a brisk winter morning, it is nice to share breakfast with friends at the local cafe.

01/06/2024

Wallabies are normally solitary animals. Pairs will often stand on either side of the road having some sort of a face-off, but they take off in opposite directions when they are approached. Obviously, they must get together occasionally, perhaps with candlelight and drinks, or we wouldn’t have baby wallabies. So, I was somewhat dubious when I received a call about 2 wallabies down a mineshaft. Many people get wallabies and kangaroos mixed up, so I thought it was likely that they were actually eastern grey kangaroos – I have rescued up to four kangaroos all in the same mineshaft together. But then the photo arrived, and it was definitely a wallaby, at least one.

It was late in the day and there wasn’t much time to spare if I was to conduct a rescue straight away. But everything went wrong, from getting delayed at home, a mix-up with the directions and location, and a considerable trek through bushland as there was no way of getting a vehicle close to the mine. There is much to carry and there was only Margaret, a local rescuer, and myself. I thought I better go straight to the mine and assess the situation first. The prospector, Phil, who called in the emergency to Wildlife Victoria was still in the area and offered to guide us to the exact spot. And then came the finale – there were no wallabies to be seen! Phil explained that there must be some sort of tunnel leading off at the base of the shaft as the animals regularly disappeared. There was no way of knowing how far they could travel and whether I could access them. The shaft was about 7m deep and the thought of then traversing underground for an unknown distance was a bit daunting. I waited some time, but the wallabies were a no show. There was one hour of daylight left, I had no equipment at the mine yet, and it would take at least 30 min to tranquillise 2 wallabies, even if they were visible. These poor wallabies had to spend the night trapped. At least they should be hungry in the morning so that we might be able to entice them into view with some green grass and hay. I left a trail of pink ribbons tied to trees to make sure we could find our way back tomorrow.

The next day, I had a team to help me – Margaret, Gary and Andy. Upon arrival, there were still no wallabies visible. But we could hear thumping. The grass delivery didn’t work as a lure, but the fright of something landing at the bottom of the shaft made one of the wallabies emerge in a panic and I quickly delivered a tranquilliser dart. Once sedated, the wallaby fell over and slid out of sight. Now for the second. We waited and waited, but nothing. We dropped more grass and then stones and sticks. Still nothing. 15 minutes had elapsed. We wondered if the unconscious wallaby had blocked the access. We tied rope to a rescue bag and dropped it down. It disappeared down into the tunnel and I realised it was steep and probably an extension of the shaft. And then bang, out he came, and the second dart was quickly delivered. He too slid away and disappeared. I had no idea what I was to find and desperately hoped that I could get to the snoring wallabies.

Down I went. At the bottom, I found myself on very slanted ground and sliding. With trepidation, I crouched down and peered into the unknown. The shaft did indeed continue, and I could see the two wallabies down at the real bottom among rocks and branches some 3 or 4 metres further down. There was heaps of room, and I continued to descend.

I bagged the first wallaby, about a 20kg male, and the crew on the surface hauled him up and out. We repeated the procedure for the second, also a male, but a bit smaller at around 15 kg. Then it was a case of getting the bigger weight up, but we won’t mention kilos. We examined the wallabies, and both seemed to be in surprisingly good condition except for a few minor abrasions. We carried them a distance from the shaft and laid them down well apart so that each could wake and recover without disturbing the other. They woke to a pile of lush green grass in front of their faces.

Andy and Margaret did a brilliant job to cover the shaft with a mass of branches. Just another few thousand shafts to cover and we might put an end to this ridiculous danger that exists across Victoria.

01/06/2024

Love you Pam.

To Love a Rescuer

To love a rescuer you must love all of her. You must love the scars covering her body from panicked and hurt animals she was trying to help. You must love her fractured heart, that has been broken so many times she no longer even takes the time to mend the pieces.

To love a rescuer you must embrace her grit and determination, and know that although she fights a war she can never win, she can and does win a few battles. You must love the tears she will shed over those she lost. You must give her comfort that she refuses to accept, as she blames herself for things she could have never foreseen.

To love a rescuer you must acknowledge the rage she feels towards the world at times, and know that anger is driven by a love of life too few have. You must give her space and room to cry and mourn for the losses that others have caused out of carelessness or cruelty.

To love a rescuer you must understand her passion to heal and save is a calling, not a choice. You must accept that to save animals is part of her soul and without that she could never be happy.

To love a rescuer you must be patient. You must accept her work comes first. She will forgo sleep, forgo food, forgo her life for animals in need. She will work tirelessly until her body and mind fail her completely and she cannot go on.

To love a rescuer you must be strong. You must not be threatened by her focus and love of animals. You must accept that the things you love about her, the strength and convictions and loyalty are also what drives her sense of duty to animals in need; you cannot have one without the other.

To love a rescuer you must never ask her to choose, because she will, and it will not be you.

This is also dedicated to all the male rescuers too.

Thank you to whomever wrote this.

30/05/2024

Howey and I went for an early morning walk/hop in the forest. It was beautiful, still, misty, cold. Howey would repeatedly race off to discover new tracks and revisit the ones he was familiar with, faster and faster, to jump over tree trunks that lay on the ground, and to perform a classic Toyota kick to display his excitement and joy. Again and again he would return to my side and we would study the forest together.

Along our way, we passed the many forest giants that were brought to the ground during a brutal storm 3 years ago. The smaller trunks and branches were converted into firewood that now warms our home and provides comfort to our sick and orphaned joeys, like Howey, who enjoy lying beside our wood heater. We have taken advantage of the deep holes left at the base of fallen trees to provide the final resting places for many of our loved wildlife family that have passed. The forest floor is normally too hard to pe*****te with shovels. The grief of losing some of our largest and most beautiful trees is compounded by them now becoming gravesites, far greater loss and pain, as we gradually utilise hole after hole. The sadness of passing so many burial sites can be overwhelming, unbearable.

We commemorate our departed furry friends by planting new trees above their graves. The backdrop provided by the root balls with their pockets of soil and exposed roots frame our new gardens. They remain part of our forest and now contribute in a new way. Other life moves in, such as bugs and spiders, and we are reminded that life goes on. They are again a thing of beauty, especially this one that featured a stunning web that captured an early morning ray of sun, and I try to remember the good things and the joy that our amazing kangaroos bring to us. But f**k it is hard.

12/05/2024

What a great idea to invest in the most comfortable and expensive pouches available. But they should have come with instructions!

03/05/2024

Ever wanted to get involved to help our wildlife?
Even if you’re not particularly physical there is still LOTS you can do.
If so, come along to the Wildlife Victoria Rescue & Transporting Training day in Sunbury.

https://www.wildlifevictoria.org.au/get-involved/wildlife-victoria-training?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0gvJCchSGzSP0neXX8qS8e429ExQgAPTT7Qh7VIxS2OjXW7WptkUU_8tI_aem_ARoa8D8HytrBikS3f2YYq_WQsgssDZmuZy7PmIc7FzvB4CztAUmeMBe0kcvkREQUxBZwivBmZsWlwR2Tc_-gUJXE

Step 3: Once you have registered and paid, Volunteer Services will send you a confirmation email and log in details. Note that registrations are processed on weekdays (not weekends and public holidays) so may take a few days.

02/05/2024

Back in January, I told of a fellow wildlife rescuer, Rachel, who had been working hard to raise funds for various animal carers and animal welfare groups. Rachel writes and produces beautiful children's books and the stories are about the very animals that she is helping. We were one of the shelters that Rachel selected to help, as her latest book is about Australian native animals.

Rachel has already passed on significant and much needed funds from sales of her book. The book makes a wonderful children's gift so please consider purchasing copies for upcoming presents, and you we help spread the word about our native animals and you will help shelters like us at the same time.

100% of all profits from sales go to just four nominated carers / groups with minimal costs for printing and postage. Here is the link where you can buy a copy of the book:

Unicomb

If you donate $15 AUD or more you are eligible to receive a digital copy of the book.

24/04/2024

Little Howey was rescued nearly 3 months ago, after his mum was savaged by a dog. Howey was the joey on my lap during my TV interview on The Project a month later (scroll down to March 5 post to see Howey on TV), and this is little Howey today – no longer a frightened little orphan, but an adventurous and healthy young man. What a delight to watch, and what a wonderful companion when I am out working on our property.

28/03/2024

Elderly Man Rescues Panicked Kangaroo from Mineshaft.

Anyone who saw the recent Yahoo story about my rescue of a wombat from floodwaters will understand.

However, I am getting old, so this time I took a younger and fitter rescuer, Trevor, along in the hope that he will get inspired to descend into dangerous and dirty holes in the ground to rescue our poor wildlife victims. Trevor is already well experienced in kangaroo rescue, and he shoots and darts. He is also more appropriately sized for mineshaft rescues!

Mineshafts come in a huge range of sizes, shapes, depths and structural stability. This shaft located near Dunolly was a pretty ugly one. Its opening was not very obvious, it had steep and slippery grass slopes around its entrance, and the walls were highly unstable with evidence of previous collapses - a perfect mine to entice younger Trevor.

I couldn’t even safely inspect the shaft or the kangaroo properly without first attaching myself to a rope tied to a distant tree, in fear that I might end up joining the kangaroo ahead of schedule. Similarly, I required the stability from the rope to be able to lean forward enough to get a shot with my tranquiliser gun. I didn’t even try to descend gracefully (as if I ever do) as I knew that the walls would crumble under my weight and my greater concern was to avoid burying the kangaroo’s face under dirt. Fortunately, the kangaroo ended up in a good position once sedated with her head under a slight overhang.

The poor kangaroo was successfully extracted from the mine. A preliminary examination of the young female roo didn’t reveal any obvious major injuries and, with our great thanks and relief, Denise from the nearby McIntyre Wildlife Shelter agreed to accept the new patient. Thanks also to the initial caller, Chris, and to Kerry and Trevor for helping with this rescue and making the mineshaft a little safer, if not at least more obvious.

Our government authorities really do need to tackle the problem of fencing off these death traps. There are many thousands of open mineshafts across Victoria, and the job to make them safe may be daunting, but we must start somewhere. I have been performing mineshaft rescues for nearly 30 years and I don’t want Trevor to have to do the same, not to mention what our poor wildlife go through.

25/03/2024

Now that's just mean! Calling me an 'elderly man' that is. Accuracy should never get in the way of a good story.

A wombat was stuck on an "island" during a flood – these heroes knew time was of the essence and hurried to save him ❤️––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––...

08/03/2024

Plea for help for our fire victims (and other patients).

Some 4 years ago, Helen and I embarked on the biggest project we have ever undertaken at our East Trentham Wildlife Shelter. Because of the generosity of people from around the world that responded to the horrific 2019-20 Victorian black summer fires, substantial donations were made to organisations such as Wildlife Victoria which allowed them to help shelters and carers across the state, and to offer significant grants for the rebuilding of facilities lost to the fires and for building new infrastructure. We were extremely fortunate to receive funding from Wildlife Victoria for the construction of a triage clinic and animal hospital wing attached to our house – a bigger project than we would have ever imagined tackling with our own financial resources. We received much help from generous tradies and friends, and our facility was built (well, mostly), and continues to improve and expand. The problem was that animals arrived that needed our help before our project was completed (no surprises there) and so progress has been difficult and challenging as we work around a constant influx of animals.

One of the biggest problems we faced by postponing completion was with our hospital room flooring. We had intended to seal the floors or cover them with soft industrial vinyl but there was never a time that the rooms were free of animals. The bare concrete was scrubbed and disinfected almost every day. Harsh detergents, boiling water, brushes and squeegee mops took their toll. And it stunk as animal urine pe*****ted the concrete which could never be cleaned properly. In fact, the task of cleaning out the hospital rooms and washing and drying the floors were voted the worst job at our shelter and I’m sure we actually lost some of our volunteers due to this chore.

With a brief lull in animals needing the hospital rooms, our good friend and weekly volunteer Tony used his property management expertise to investigate solutions to our flooring nightmare. After his extensive research, Tony recommended that we seal the floors with a durable epoxy sealer, to a hospital grade finish. Furthermore, Tony and his wife, Karryn, extended their generosity (yet again) and were adamant about paying for the very expensive epoxy materials. This was just as well as we had long blown our hospital project budget! Tony also decided that, together, we could prepare and seal the floor ourselves. Luckily, I did a bit of homework of my own. Preparation involved extensive grinding of concrete down to a solid level finish, sealers, ceramic fillers to form coving (curved edges to seal floors to walls, shaping, forming, sanding), multiple coats of epoxy, dust extraction, fume extraction, final sealers, and the list goes on. I didn’t f…ing think so!

Tony’s next challenge was to find a flooring specialist to do the job. And that he did. With an element of luck, Tony found a (reasonably) local epoxy floor expert by the name of Johnathan Schang of JS Flooring Solutions. Johnathan booked us in for his first job for 2024, and what an amazing job he did, and for a great discounted shelter price. One of the best decisions we ever made.

Within days of drying and being ready for use, the first patient had arrived – a wallaby rescued from a mineshaft.

But now, fire victims arrived from the 2024 central Victorian fires, who now use the very rooms built with funds from an earlier and devastating fire. I guess this is fitting as it is exactly what the donations and funding was intended for. It also meant that some good came out of those horrible fires, and we have better facilities than ever to help the next lot of poor fire victims.
BUT, and there is always a but, we desperately need to make another (final) improvement to the floors. When the bandaged kangaroos shuffle around the rooms, they displace the thick bedding straw and expose the flooring underneath. While beautifully sealed with epoxy and easy to clean and disinfect, it is still hard and cold. We therefore cover the floor with foam interlocking gym mats which then get covered with linen sheets and buried under the straw. We must have every brand and type of mat, that were donated or collected from countless hard-rubbish piles. Consequently, they don’t match nor interlock, and kangaroo crap gets caught in the gaps, they soak up the urine, they stink, and the problems continue. Because of these mats, it continues to be a nightmare to properly clean and disinfect the hospital rooms.

Our hope is to purchase 100% waterproof heavy-duty padded mats, similar to dog beds that we currently use, to fully cover the floors. In addition to the soft padding, these would also provide excellent insulation during cold weather and therefore be of massive benefit to all our animals, all year round. We are currently working with two manufacturers to obtain quotes to custom make super-sized mats that will still be manageable to clean and disinfect. Depending on the room size, rooms would either have 4 or 6 mats. The downside is that a cost-effective run to custom manufacture enough mats for 4 rooms will be in the order of $2500.

We are therefore asking for donations to help with the purchase of these flooring mats that are essential for the comfort of our fire victims, and other animals, and for the ease of keeping our hospital facilities clean and hygienic (and to not lose any more volunteers!). For anyone wishing to help, you can deposit funds into the following account:

East Trentham Wildlife Shelter
Bank: Bendigo Bank
BSB: 633000
Acc No: 157239781

Please note that we are not a registered charity, nor can we offer tax-deductibility for donations.

Thank you.

05/03/2024

Thank you to Channel 10's TV show "The Project" for showing the plight of our kangaroos and some of our wildlife victims from the recent Victorian bushfires. I wish they would have focused more on the incredible work that Helen is doing as the person that really does all of the intense wound treatment and bandage changes, as well as most of the other shelter chores. The story really should have been about her!

https://www.facebook.com/TheProjectTV/videos/953492002345721

02/03/2024

It is the fires that is on everyone’s mind at the moment, and the arrival of burns victims has certainly added pressure on our shelter. However, other everyday cases continue and our demands on services such as the Wildlife Victoria travelling vet service have also been put under increasing pressure. We would like to share a day in the life of the WV vet service, when they help a shelter like ours.

Vets arrive at around 11:00AM.

Case 1: Bucket O Blood. I had just returned home from a darting rescue of a kangaroo with a massive lump on his leg. The kangaroo had been reported many times but was extremely reactive and mobile and evaded earlier rescue attempts. The 40 kg male was still in my car (unconscious) when Dr Jess and vet-nurse Jordan arrived. They leapt into action. After extracting 2.3 litres of blood from the massive lump, samples of underlying tissue were extracted and X-rays were taken to determine the cause and severity of this unusual condition. The X-rays said it all and revealed extensive hip damage likely to have been sustained from an earlier vehicle collision. This was a great surprise and particularly disappointing as the kangaroo hopped quite well and masked the severity of his condition. There was no hope for recovery, and ‘Bucket O Blood’ was the first casualty for the day.

Case 2: Kerry’s Girl. While working on Bucket O Blood, good friend and fellow rescuer Kerry arrived with a rescued kangaroo of her own. It was a 15 kg female found on the side of the road. She was able to stand and move but kept falling. Again, X-rays were taken and which revealed a shattered pelvis. There was no hope for her either and she became the second casualty for the day.

Case 3: Big Daddy. Big Daddy was a grand old and majestic buck weighing in at around 80 kg. He is beautiful. Big Daddy arrived at our shelter the previous night, this time from another friend and rescuer, Trevor. Big Daddy had a very sore and infected paw and was found seeking refuge in a veggie garden at an exclusive Daylesford resort. X-rays were again taken. His condition was also serious but not without hope. 2 hours of surgery followed to clean up and treat his infected paw. Our fingers are crossed that we can give this grand old giant a little more time on this Earth. He really is magnificent.

Case 4: During the 2 hours of surgery performed on Big Daddy, Alfred arrived from the fireground. Alfred is a 28 kg male with burns to both feet and both paws. This time delivered by rescuer and carer Gary. Helen initiated first aid to Alfred and began to clean his wounds until the vet team was ready to move their attention to him. They assessed and worked on Alfred’s wounds and another few hours quickly lapsed.

Case 5: Werribee Wallaby. On the day before, I was called to capture a wallaby that was running a muck in the middle of suburban Werribee. The wallaby’s movements had been reported many times to police and Wildlife Victoria as he crossed busy roads and gambled with peak traffic. He eventually hid under a carport at a block of units on a main road. With a great team of helpers to hold a net to block any possible escape back onto the busy main road, I was able to dart and tranquilise the wallaby and successfully retrieve the poor boy who was covered in cuts and abrasions. Further disappointment. I had performed my own examination at the time of the rescue and believed that he was generally OK except for a few cuts that might have needed stitches – hence the vet consult. However, Dr Jess detected a fracture in the wallaby's femur, and our little wallaby became the third tragedy of the day.

We also wanted one of our long-term joeys LaDiDah checked. A lump had developed under her foot. She showed obvious discomfort when walking or hopping which had not resolved over many weeks. Regardless of dozens of X-rays, numerous laser therapy treatments and repeated examinations, the cause of her debilitation remained unknown and a CT scan was subsequently organised by the Wildlife Victoria vets at the Lort Smith Animal Hospital for the following Saturday.

It was now very late, well past a normal workday’s end. Jess and Jordan hadn’t stopped for a second, not for lunch, nor for any form of break. The pace was relentless, the cases extreme, and the treatments were intense.

I know I have said it before, but the Wildlife Victoria travelling vet service truly is a game changer. I can’t imagine how we managed before this service was rolled out and made available to carers like Helen and myself. I certainly acknowledge other fantastic vet services and have posted countless stories of the tremendous work and support that individual vet clinics have provided us over past years, and our need for that support will never disappear. But at times like this, when we had 5 or more emergency macropod cases needing urgent attention all at once, we would be overwhelming private clinics and find it impossible to capture, transport and manage so many animals in one day. The travelling vet service has attended our shelter 3 times this week, and every day was epic. For the benefit of private sympathetic vet clinics, for shelters receiving the travelling vet service, and for our wildlife, please donate to Wildlife Victoria Inc. to ensure that this service is sustainable and expanded to help more shelters. By helping Wildlife Victoria, you are helping us, and many like us.

Wildlife Victoria

01/03/2024

Yesterday, another three patients arrived from the fireground, thanks again to rescuer Gary. Well, actually, five patients were delivered, as two adult females were both carrying tiny pinkie joeys in their pouches. One of the mums also had an at-foot joey that was captured, who miraculously didn’t appear to have any injuries at all. The little girl was therefore placed into our kangaroo enclosure with five of our other joeys of similar size. It will only be a matter of days before she calms down and joins our little group for company and security, and she will hopefully be later reunited with her mum after mum heals from her burns. Unfortunately, the second female had full depth burns to her paws and wasn’t saveable. Her joey was too small to be saved and so also lost his life. The Wildlife Victoria travelling vet service was back at our shelter and worked for many hours on our injured kangaroos – this time it was Dr Emily and nurse Bayli.

There was an interesting twist with Numero Uno who arrived three days ago. The landowner, Gianni, who had reported the injured kangaroo, responded to my post to inform me that the rescued kangaroo was a regular visitor to his property and to neighbouring properties, and he was named Alfred. Gianni and friends were delighted to hear that Alfred was being cared for and was doing OK. The true nature of Alfred’s wounds are still becoming apparent, and they are serious, but we remain hopeful that he can recover. Alfred started showing signs of frustration from being locked up in our hospital room and, at one stage, he decided to give me a bit of a kick which was pretty funny as his feet were heavily bandaged and padded and his kicks were therefore very soft.

After the new mum arrived and her wounds were treated, she was placed into the hospital room with Numero Uno, I mean Alfred. I watched carefully to make sure Alfred behaved himself as boy kangaroos can be a bit naughty around pretty girls. Alfred immediately took immense interest in our new patient (who was still unconscious), clucking and sniffing over her entire body. I was worried that he was going to misbehave but, instead, he stood over her for nearly an hour and then laid by her side. The penny dropped. They were both rescued from the same property and knew each other. Alfred was reunited with one of his mob, perhaps even his girlfriend, and his relief and excitement of having a friend join him brought us to tears.

We are only seeing the tip of the iceberg at this early stage and wildlife assessment teams are only now just entering the firegrounds to specifically search for injured animals and to rescue those able to be treated. Together with all the other animals already in our care, we are feeling the strain, especially Helen who now spends many hours a day washing wounds and changing bandages. It won’t be long before we call for help as we struggle to provide the care that our kangaroos need.