Injured and orphaned wildlife emergencies... YOU CAN HELP
If the animal is small enough to handle without endangering yourself or others:
- Wrap it in a towel or blanket and place it in a secure, well-ventilated cardboard box or container
- Keep it warm, quiet and away from people and pets
- Orphaned marsupial joeys and sick animals may need extra warmth such as a wrapped hot water bottle (not too hot!)
- DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FEED OR GIVE FLUIDS TO THE ANIMAL
- Call the the Emergency Phone wildlife rescue number immediately on - 13 000 WILDLIFE or 13 000 94 535 (24 hours).
- Remember that large animals, such as an adult kangaroo, can hurt you. If the animal is too large to handle, contact help on the Emergency Phone immediately.
- Marsupials carry pouch young so always check road casualties for joeys.
- All wildlife is protected by law and government permits are required to hold any wildlife in captivity.
Wildlife Victoria has trained volunteer rescue teams that can be called upon at any time to assist in wildlife rescue emergencies such as bushfires and oil spills. This rescue service, together with the Emergency Phone, is frequently used by government departments, zoos and sanctuaries, vets, councils, police and other emergency services, and has proved invaluable in the successful rescue of thousands of animals throughout Victoria.
Volunteer to be a Rescuer
From 6ft kangaroos to tiny baby birds, we need volunteers who are willing to help. You will respond to the Emergency Phone operators requests (according to your skill level), you don’t have to be available 24 hours a day, all you need is common sense, an eye for assessing dangerous situations and a keen interest in helping sick, orphaned and injured wildlife. Wildlife Victoria provides rescue training seminars to volunteers, councils, Dept Sustainability and Environment, Parks Vic and for a current list of training days available click here.
To more details contact us or if you have requisite training already then register here.
Volunteer to Transport
If you do not feel confident to rescue then you might consider putting your name down as a transporter. A transporter will only be asked to pick up an animal that is already contained (it will only involve small animals) and transport it from a member of the public to a vet or shelter operator. Sometimes we need to transfer species to very specific carers (for example: an eagle needs very specialised care and not all shelter operators are set up to handle them – we sometimes need to transport them to a specialised carer).
To volunteer for transporting register here
