Recent Admissions

Elizabeth the Bobtail 
To Rescue or Not To Rescue
Jezebel - the Red Joey
Splotch - the Kangaroo
Riley - Southern Brown Bandicoot
Flame - Little Red Joey
Chook - Western Grey
Kookaburra - Care & Release
Twany Frogmouth
Sacred Kingfisher

Elizabeth the Bobtail

I first heard about ‘Elizabeth’ on 17 January 2010. Michelle H was on Wildcare and called me to ask if we had room for another bobtail admission - a juvenile. Helen the rescuer and her daughter had been for a walk near their home in Shoalwater and found Elizabeth, two other juveniles and an adult in a stormwater drain.

When the bobtails were finally rescued from the drain Helen realised that the adult, unfortunately, was dead. The other two youngsters moved off into the bush. Elizabeth was too weak from dehydration and lack of food and she didn't move. Helen took Elizabeth home where she drank lots of water but would not eat.

Helen had force fed Elizabeth banana and other goodies before taking her to the vet. Helen and her daughter absolutely adored the bobtail and decided she was so pretty (if a bit scrawny) that she had to be a girl. They called her Elizabeth from then on.

In the meantime, Helen and her husband went for another walk to check all the stormwater drains. They found bobtails in quite a few of them and even a dugite, which Helen’s husband, a snake handler, managed to set free. They got their local ranger down and it turns out that the reptiles may be coming up through the stormwater pipe, where it empties onto the beach, as a way of getting to the other side of the road.

Back to Elizabeth. Helen took her to Dr Ian at the Riseley Street Veterinary Centre in Applecross. Dr Ian was not sure Elizabeth would make it. For over a week he force fed her and treated her for Giardia, a protozoan parasite (read more about Giardia in our autumn newsletter).

On one of my visits to see Dr Ian with our partially paralysed bobtail, he asked if we could continue her treatment at home. Elizabeth had just started to self feed. When he showed her to me I could not believe how skinny she was and that she had survived! Ian said it was still touch and go. She only weighed 172g.

I took her home and kept her separate from our other bobtail for a few days so we could be sure that she was eating and that her faeces looked okay. She was very active and when we did put them together in a larger enclosure she roamed around investigating her surroundings and new friend.

She is eating well and steadily putting on weight. She now weighs 241g. It is reassuring and a bit gross to see her happily chomp down a snail or two.

Bobtails are lovely reptiles but can be very tricky to care for. We are lucky to have them in this country. Thanks to people like Helen many more will be saved from dangerous situations.

TO RESCUE OR NOT TO RESCUE

Spring is a very busy time for bird carers with lots of baby birds being rescued and admitted. Despite the kindest intentions of those who rescue, the best thing is often to leave the youngster where it is found and let the parents continue caring for it. Anyone can contact the Wildcare Helpline or a wildlife centre like Darling Range before making a ‘rescue’. Bird carers will help with advice for the best outcome - it might involve observation, making an artificial nest or some short term supplement feeding.

With all this is mind I would like to tell you the story of a young magpie in a suburban back yard. I realise it is not a true ‘admission’ story - but still a good one to share
     
A call came to the shelter about a young magpie that had been abandoned. Helen and her family were feeding the young bird but concerned about its future. They worried that it was constantly calling for its parents who had not returned. Given the unusual behaviour for family orientated magpies, I offered to assess the situation and see if the bird had any health issues

Helen and her family had been feeding mince to the parents for the past two weeks. They enjoyed watching the parent magpies take food up to the chicks in a nearby nest. On one particular day both parents and two youngsters visited the yard. After a while, the parents and one youngster left. One baby remained. It had been four days since the parents were last seen. Helen had continued to feed the young bird. Although she had left water out, the baby magpie was not drinking. Helen and her family had been using a meat baster to provide it with fluids

It was late when I arrived at Helen’s home. The young magpie had settled for the night. It had climbed into a hibiscus tree, not far off the ground but well hidden in the foliage. I decided not to disturb the magpie and discuss with Helen an ongoing management plan.

The first thing to discuss was feeding. I stressed that ordinary supermarket mince meat was not a good food source. Plenty of people offer mince but it is lacking in nutrients, especially calcium. Young birds deficient in calcium can develop skeletal abnormalities and behavioural issues.

Helen and her family were caring and wanted to help the bird but did not want a pet magpie. They wanted some assurance that once the magpie could fly, it would leave. I was not sure what the outcome would be. The young magpie had already settled into a routine, knew where to find its humans with food, followed them around the yard and if its humans were busy inside the magpie would seek company from the family’s outside pet budgie. A cute but sad situation.

I had the option of taking the bird into care. The magpie could be returned to the yard once self-feeding and flying better. There was a chance it would meet up with other magpies and be accepted. I decided that with the correct food, help and support, it would be best to continue the current arrangements and see how it all went.

On subsequent visits I never saw or heard magpies near the house. The young bird did really well. It enjoyed the specially formulated meat mix. It foraged for the mealworms which we scattered in the sand. Some health issues did develop. A scratch near one eye was treated with antibiotic cream. This injury may have been the result of a scrape by a twig. Medication was also needed for throatworm, a parasitic condition common in this species.

Five days after my first visit - nine days since the parents and sibling had left – both parent and sibling birds returned, (well three magpies came so lets assume it is them). The three returning birds came into the yard and happily verbalised with their abandoned baby.  Then the four birds flew up into a large tree. Then out of sight. I have no idea where they had been but it was so nice that they decided to come back.

If I had admitted the young bird to care and removed it from the area, upon the return of the parent birds, the opportunity to reunite the family would have been lost.

Jezebel the Red Joey

It was a Tuesday afternoon that I answered a call at the Shelter from a family who had a little red joey. Its mother had been shot and they were not sure how long they had had the joey in their care but thought it was coming up five days to a week. They were about to travel again and could not keep the joey.

The joey was in a suburb close to where I lived so I advised I would come by once I finished my shift and meet with them and admit the joey into care.

Once I reached the house I realised how important it had been for me to collect this little female joey. The children at the house had called her Jesse. She was a tiny little thing, simply standing on all fours with her head lowered in front of an electric heater. At her size, which was approximately a kilo, she should have been spending much of her time in a pouch. The family had been giving her some breakfast oats and no formula. She was one of the saddest and most unwell little joeys I had ever seen. I knew she was going to require a lot of intensive care and even then might not have the willpower or strength to pull through.

I spoke with the family about the importance of handing wildlife on to a carer should they come across another joey. I thanked them for making contact with the Shelter when they did.

Jesse was renamed Jezebel. She was very unwell and quiet for many days. She had been suffering from stress and inappropriate care when collected and needed constant warmth, quiet, attention and nutrition. She developed pneumonia and required intensive veterinary input and a course of medication.

Over the weeks and months she overcame her difficult start at being an orphan. Jezebel grew into a beautiful red kangaroo.

She and a small group of other red kangaroos had reached the stage to be relocated for their release into their natural environment. Arrangements were made for the long journey north.

In preparation she was given a sedative to help her remain comfortable during the lengthy journey. 

We had never experienced a kangaroo having a bad reaction from the sedative previously.  Jezebel suffered a bad reaction and died.

To have cared for Jezebel so intensively and then to have her die as she had reached maturity was extremely emotional and difficult. She had, however, experienced a caring and safe time as a joey and during rehabilitation with us.

‘Splotch’

‘Splotch’ was so named because he had been admitted suffering from one of the most progressive cases of ring worm we had ever seen.

He would have been feeling most uncomfortable and to relieve some of his discomfort he was bathed on a regular basis. He was also put on fairly major drugs to clear up the infection.

His fur was in varying stages of falling out and growing back – he sort of resembled a patchwork quilt!

While most of the joeys prefer a hanging bag – which more closely resembles a mother kangaroo’s pouch – he preferred to be laid in a soft ‘bed’. Arrangements were made for a ‘dog’ bed to be purchased for him. He would lay in it for hours, with his feet dangling out of his ‘pouch’.

Splotch grew into a very handsome kangaroo. He was successfully transported to a pre-release area outside of Kalgoorlie. Eventually he was released with other kangaroos he had been raised with.

RILEY THE SOUTHERN BROWN BANDICOOT (QUENDA) by Cathy Stuart

Some very observant people found an abandoned baby bandicoot and took it to a local vet. Apparently there was no sign of the mother but she may have fallen prey to a predator and the little one had fallen from the pouch. I hadn’t looked after a baby bandicoot before but with the support of other experienced carers I was keen to give it a go.

I named the little fellow Riley and at 38 grams and approx 43 days of age he needed quite intense care. He needed to be kept at a constant warm temperature and he needed 3 hourly milk feeds that he initially took from a syringe, then showed a preference for lapping from a small lid.

He grew quickly and as his need for heating decreased he was able to move into progressively larger quarters, eventually moving to a large wire cage complete with dirt tray for digging and lots of foliage and hiding spots. He had a favourite black cloth pouch that he liked to climb into and he used this right through until he was almost big enough for release.

The frequency of his milk feeds gradually reduced and eventually stopped. At an early age he was started on a mushy diet of banana and avocado; the variety of foods he was offered increased as he grew but these two remained his favourites, along with mealworms, slaters and blossoms from grevillea and bottlebrush trees.

Once he got to 300 grams it was time for him to move to the shelter where he could have even larger living quarters and continue growing, aiming for the 500 grams recommended release size. He was quite secretive and any carers who got to see him were quite excited, as he mostly kept himself hidden when people were about, which was a good instinct for him to have. Catching him for weighing was a work of art! Luckily he still had his black pouch hiding place as I could often find him there.

With the help of some carers that had been involved in Bandicoot releases I learnt that because he wouldn’t have much predator awareness I should find a site within a fox bait area to release Riley. A couple in the hills with a purpose-built soft release enclosure agreed to take him. When we put him in the enclosure he ran about madly, checking out every corner of his new accommodation. He ate well while he was there and when the ramp was set up to allow him to leave off he went. A lot of fresh scratchings around the area indicated that he or other bandicoots were around but even if one had been found it would have been impossible to say if it was Riley. 

FLAME THE LITTLE RED JOEY by Cathy Stuart

A lady called Jenny contacted the wildlife shelter to get information about looking after a joey that she had been given. She was keen to keep it but had not looked after one before so needed advice. After speaking to Jenny on the phone I arranged to go take a look at the joey and come up with a plan of care.

It was a cute male red joey, alert but trembling, looked about 1 ½ kg. The story was that Jenny and her family were returning from holidays and pulled into a garage shortly after an attendant at the garage had found the joey that had fallen from its mother’s pouch as she had been fleeing from a bushfire. Armed with a bottle, teat and milk recipe (unlike a recipe we would use) Jenny and her family decided to take on the care of the little guy and then when they got home sensibly decided to get help and advice.

I examined him and found no signs of injury but he was a bit dry. Given his small size and their lack of experience I recommended they surrender him so he could be placed with an experienced carer. I outlined what type of care he would need, feeding and toileting etc, also our preference to not raise joeys alone, it is better for them to be with others of the same species. Their home with a lot of coming and going was not really a good environment and there was also the chance that although he looked good now there may be some delayed health complications.

Being very kind, caring people, now with some understanding of what was involved with raising and wanting what was best for him they agreed to let me take him. I asked if they would like to give him a name and they chose ‘Flame’.

Flame is now living with one of our experienced carers and a couple of other red joeys of about the same age and while there were some health issues that required vet attention and medications he is now doing well and the carer keeps in touch with Jenny and her family, sending regular pictures and updates so even though they gave him up they still feel they are involved.

It will be some time before Flame can move on from home care to the pens at the shelter but he and his mates will make that progression and then eventually be returned to the wild.

CHOOK THE WESTERN GREY by Cathy Stuart

Chook was only with me for a few days. She was found by an animal welfare officer living in an enclosure with chickens, hence the name ‘Chook’. She had been rescued as a joey and raised by the property owners and while she was in good condition and obviously cared for it would be nice to get her with other kangaroos.

Western grey roos are very social animals and like to be together. I had Chook with me for some parasite treatment and isolation before introducing her to the other roos at the shelter. She spent a lot of time licking her arms, which roos do if they are stressed or hot, she was feeding well and when not licking grazed on the lawn.
Once I determined that she had no health issues she was taken to the shelter and placed with other joeys the same size. She integrated well with the others and her development and progress was no different to the others. She moved through the various pens having less and less human contact and has now been released in the wild with the mates she made at the shelter.

KOOKABURRA CARE AND RELEASE by Cathy Stuart

Kookaburras are not actually native to WA. They are birds that have become accepted as part of our natural bird life.

This story is about a kookaburra that was found with wing and tail feather damage and obviously unable to fly. The bird was part of a group of kookaburras that live along the river in Kelmscott. The couple who saw him and were able to catch him brought him along to the wildlife shelter for assessment and care; they had offered him some meat that he had eaten.

The bird was given a thorough check over and apart from the feather breakage it seemed healthy,  active and alert but required some supplementary electrolyte fluids and accommodation  in a hotbox for a couple of days, just to get over the stress of being caught and so any delayed evidence of illness or injury could be observed.

The bird did well and was subsequently moved to a large outdoor aviary, even though with the feather damage his flight was not good initially. He ate well, dining on mice that he had the natural instincts to try and kill even though they were already dead. Over a couple of months there was feather growth and his flight was improving. It was time to think about the long term future for him.

I contacted the rescuers who said the rest of the kookaburra family still seemed to be in the area and they were willing to have a go at returning this guy to see if the mob would accept him back after such a long separation.

I advised them to observe the locals and determine the time of day they were in the area, which seemed to be late evenings. They took the bird that was to be released, placing him in a cocky cage under trees frequented by the kookaburras and five came to investigate. They sat on the cage and walked around it, showing no signs of aggressive behaviour, so the rescuers approached and opened the cage door. As they approached the five free birds moved off but not very far. Once the bird had jumped out of the cage the others returned and as a group they flew off! The bird that had been in captivity had lift and flight as good as its mates and it appears to have been a successful release. To the time of writing this report the birds have not been back close enough to count but kookaburra laughter can still be heard in the area in the evenings.

TAWNY FROGMOUTH by Cathy Stuart

This little tawny frogmouth was found on the ground in a paddock and taken to a local vet.

Tawnys like to sit around perfectly still and it is a great camouflage, but sitting on the ground is not a good idea as predators would find them easy targets.

The vet could find nothing wrong with the bird and it was passed onto the shelter for care. It seemed that this was just a fledgling that had perhaps flopped to the ground during flight practice.

These birds, young or adult, are not good self feeders when in captivity and have to be coaxed by having the tasty morsels waved in front of them. For this little guy that meant very small dead mice that he ate hungrily.

I contacted the rescuer to determine the exact circumstances on the rescue and also got advice from a raptor carer about the best plan of action (tawny frogmouths are nightjars, not owls or true birds of prey, but many are rehabilitated by the raptor carers).
 
The rescuer told me the bird was on the ground in his paddock and he would be happy to release it there again when the bird was ready. The carer told me that the bird needed to be released within 3-4 days after being found (providing it was not sick or injured) as the parents would still be in the area, so it should be returned as close as possible to where it was found.

I delivered the bird back to the property of the rescuer and told him to wait until late afternoon/dusk before having a go at release and watch for any sign of the parents. Once he had the bird in the paddock he left it in the cage with the door open. Adult birds did arrive, the youngster left the cage and with encouragement of the adults made it up into a nearby tree.

The family were not spotted again but that is not surprising given that they are mostly out at night and during the day can camouflage so well.

SACRED KINGFISHER by Cathy Stuart

I would like to share with you the story of a Sacred Kingfisher that was found on a suburban driveway. The rescuer had observed the bird for a while before deciding that it was not capable of flying away. She placed it in a box and brought it to the wildlife shelter.

The aggressive little bird weighed 35 grams.  It had a drooping left wing and some tail feather damage. I thought its aggressive behaviour may have been an indication that it was in pain, so I arranged a vet review and in the meantime kept it in a very small box to reduce its activity and wing movement.

The vet confirmed a dislocation of the wing. I was advised it could take quite a few weeks before we knew if the bird would make a full recovery.  It would need to remain in a small cage for the first couple of weeks, gradually increasing enclosure size to allow more activity. A Cortisone (anti-inflammatory) injection was given and repeated two days later. The bird was much calmer after these injections and started feeding itself, whereas I had been force feeding it prior to the injections.

A couple of weeks later I felt I needed more reassurance that ongoing rehabilitation was worthwhile. The bird had a flight assessment and an x-ray showed that the wing bones were now in good alignment so the situation was very positive. While under anaesthetic for the x-ray the vet removed the damaged tail feathers so as to encourage faster growth of the new feathers.

Feeding was a great challenge.  He refused to eat mince - he took the small pieces of mince out of the bowl and placed them neatly around the edge. He would not eat fish or prawn bits (even at $19 per kilo). The only things he would eat were insects and only then if they were alive and moving. When you have a bird that consumes up to 60 insects per day offering variety is a time consuming job. He liked mealworms, slaters, crickets, moths and wood roaches. I tried earthworms but he didn’t eat them and I couldn’t bring myself to sacrifice lizards.

It is well documented that these birds are migratory but I wasn’t sure where they actually go.  I knew this little one wouldn’t have the strength needed for the flight, or the tail feather regrowth by the time he needed to head north - so I had to find out where to send him and then work out how to do it. After a few enquiries I learnt that the area around Carnarvon was a popular migration spot for these birds and luckily I found a carer in Carnarvon that could take him. I couldn’t hitch him a ride in a truck so it was $50 pet class on a Skywest flight.

I put  him into a very, very small carry box with a soft cloth on the base, some soft woolly bush to hide in and dark shade cloth on the front. I was very nervous and fingers crossed that he would get there safely. A couple of hours later he was in Carnarvon and settling into his new temporary home.

The bird continued to do really well. The tail feathers, once they started coming through, developed quite fast. He remained a fussy eater and even though the carer had other kingfishers that ate mince this one still refused - maybe because he was almost adult by the time he came into care he only recognised live prey as food.

After some flight practice and wing muscle building he was ready for release and as soon as there was evidence of other kingfishers arriving in the area he was released to join them.