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What should you do if you find sick, injured or orphaned wildlife?
Each situation will differ, but you should try to keep the animal safe and comfortable while you get expert advice. Try to confine the animal somewhere warm, dark and quiet.
DO NOT TRY TO FEED THE ANIMAL unless you have received expert advice.
CALM has a 24 hour advice line - WildCare (08) 9474 9055
Baby Birds & Fledglings
When possible uninjured baby birds should be placed back in the nest or in an artificial nest such as a hanging basket or similar, placed as high up the tree as possible.
It is surprising how tiny and underdeveloped a bird may be and yet still be fluttering between trees and moving around their environment.
Fledglings are usually on the ground learning to fly and should only be moved if they are in danger from cats or dogs. In this case the bird should be picked up gently (you can use a towel) and placed somewhere high and safe; a Y shaped tree branch, on the fence or shed, on the wheelie bin etc (shaded from hot sun).
The baby bird / fledgling should then be observed, from a distance to ensure that the adult birds are attending to it.
Only obviously injured or abandoned young should ever be removed from their environment. If a young bird has to be removed it should be placed in a box and kept in a warm, quiet place, until it can be passed on to an experienced carer.
Adult Birds
An adult bird on the ground and able to be approached is definitely injured or sick and will need help.
The bird should be gently picked up (using a towel if required), placed in a box and kept in a warm, quiet place until it can be passed on to an experienced carer.
Occasionally, particularly if the bird has flown into a window, it may only be stunned and recover enough to be released within a few hours.
Be aware that there are night birds & day birds and that they attack each other!
An owl found out in the morning must be kept until dark for release and a magpie found at dusk must be kept until morning for release.
NEVER attempt to feed the bird (unless you cannot get it to a carer and have received expert advice).
Often the bird has been incorrectly identified and likely to die from feeding. An injured bird is in stress and unable to process food and water squirted into the mouth is likely to not be swallowed and enter the airway.
MARSUPIALS
Road Hits -
Kangaroos:
If the animal is alive it is important that everyone is kept well away both for their own safety and to minimize stress to the animal.
Traffic will need to be directed.
A carer will need to attend and assess the situation – adult kangaroos are rarely able to be saved and so a euthanase person will need to be contacted.
If the animal is dead the pouch MUST be checked for young either by the person attending or a carer.
Link to a Guide on How to Remove joey from the pouch
Unfurred pouch young require warmth to survive – an easy way to do this at the roadside is for someone to put the baby up inside their sweater and use body warmth until either a WARM hot water bottle or wheat pack are available. Unfurred pouch young require experienced help urgently.
Furred pouch young will need to be contained in a make-shift pouch: a jacket with the sleeves tied together, a pillow case, etc. and kept warm and quiet until it can be passed on to an experienced carer.
Bandicoots & Possums:
If the animal is alive it is important that everyone is kept well away. Either the injured animal should be gently picked up and placed in a make-shift pouch and taken to an experienced carer, or a carer called out to attend.
If the animal is dead the pouch MUST be checked for young as above.
N.B. A bandicoots pouch faces backwards.
Animals caught in fencing -
Stay well away and an experienced carer / euthanase person called.
Trapped Possums -
Most often people trap a possum because it is running about their ceiling and then are unsure what to do next.
If the noise is occurring throughout the night the creature running about IN the ceiling may not be a possum. Possums tend to leave their homes around dusk and return around dawn rather than run about inside throughout the evening. If you have constant noise throughout the night it could be a rat in the ceiling. (Please note though rat baits are also toxic to our native wildlife)
Any trapped possum cannot be relocated to another area – possums are territorial and will simply return to their own territory or be killed. The possum must be released on the property where it has been trapped.
You should make arrangements for the possums point of entry into their ceiling to be fixed, so the possum cannot get into the roof.
There are plans for possum boxes which can be made and then put up to provide an alternative living space for the possum.
Cat or Dog Attacks -
Marsupials are often found after being caught by the family dog or cat. The marsupial should be placed in a box in a warm quiet place until taken to a carer or collected. It will be extremely stressed and the less disturbance the better. Advice from a carer should be obtained right away. Veterinary attention will almost always be required.
BOBTAILS/SHINGLEBACKS
Dog/Cat Attack /Bubbly Eyes & lethargic/any injury
Urgent attention required.
The bobtail should be placed in a box and kept on a warm, quiet place until it can be passed on to a carer.
Crossing Road
Move to safety in the direction it was going.
Picking up a bobtail
Some methods are:
• Wave a decoy hand in front to distract it and then grasp behind neck with other hand, gentle lift the bobtail supporting under body with decoy hand.
• Place foot in front to distract and proceed as above
• The bobtail can be GENTLY swept into a dust pan or onto a shovel.
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