http://www.narg.asn.au/
Please please go to the above link and order a wombat calendar for 2013 or 10. This is our groups main fundraiser for the year to help all of our carers in the VOLUNTEER work which we do.
Sleepy Burrows is where humans and wombats inhabit the area. It's a place where you never plan anything, life does that for you. You can of course plan your day, but you would have the wildlife laughing at you from afar:).
Saturday 29 September 2012
...and I have forgotten how to spell kyte (?)
Ah, it is kite:) If you are into kite flying, today is the day for you. Blowing a gale after yesterdays rain. And if you have one of the kites that you can jump with, today you will be jumping *lol*. Clearly I have also forgotten how to use the ride on mower as I've managed to stall it twice before getting out of the gate! I have discovered a new site on the net, Squidoo. Seen it yet? Its quieter than Facebook but a lot of interesting pages or 'lens's' as they call them. Great ideas from recipes to children's books, places around the world, etc.
Thursday 27 September 2012
One more thing on my mind actually.....
While I say there are a lot of people who don't care about wildlife or if they hit and kill a kangaroo (some applaud themselves sadly) there is a very large percentage of people who do in fact care about the wildlife and I believe a percentage which is increasing thankfully. The rather 'red neck' attitude towards Australian wildlife is not something to be proud of anymore.
.....And I need to explain something more clearly as I've had comments of 'maybe they didn't know the wombat was dead'. Sadly they would have. There are 'pockets' in rural Australia where animals of all kinds are just despised. Why? Maybe its people's upbringing, who knows but it exists very strongly in some areas. Therefore, some of the places we deal with, the animals are specifically target on the road sides. For example, it is not uncommon to get a call from a very distressed family or person who is driving in one of these particular areas to call the after hours number saying that they are behind somebody who has intentionally swerved and done this. And then driven off to the local pub for a drink and left the animal alive. Why am I telling you this? Who knows, maybe it will just make people more aware, I don't know. Maybe make some people think to become nicer human beings, lets hope so:).
.....And I need to explain something more clearly as I've had comments of 'maybe they didn't know the wombat was dead'. Sadly they would have. There are 'pockets' in rural Australia where animals of all kinds are just despised. Why? Maybe its people's upbringing, who knows but it exists very strongly in some areas. Therefore, some of the places we deal with, the animals are specifically target on the road sides. For example, it is not uncommon to get a call from a very distressed family or person who is driving in one of these particular areas to call the after hours number saying that they are behind somebody who has intentionally swerved and done this. And then driven off to the local pub for a drink and left the animal alive. Why am I telling you this? Who knows, maybe it will just make people more aware, I don't know. Maybe make some people think to become nicer human beings, lets hope so:).
So this is what a car does....
After some thought, I'll put a photo of Veg up so that people can see what a car does. If it is a low vehicle, it does not always kill the animal but rather slices them. The result, the animal runs off or is left to die very slowly. I know not everybody likes or cares about wildlife but as a gentle reminder, it is in fact illegal to hit an animal (of any kind) and leave it alive, unattended. It is so easy to just call and say 'I've hit a wombat, it ran off, can you go and look' and the response would be no problem at all.
Wildlife run out at night on roads - of course it happens. Most get killed but if not, it is no problem to make a call. I know it upsets some people when they hit something and they just drive. Again, completely understandable but again, so simple to just call so it is dealt with by somebody else. It is not pleasant having to be somebody who puts a lot of animals down but at least it prevents the suffering.
Veg was one of the lucky ones as she knew to come back to the house where she knew she would be helped. She is not nearly in the clear yet but at least she has a good chance. Her baby is still alive so that is also a bonus.
Not so lucky was the female wombat found by another carer on the side of the road 2 days ago - imagine this dear people - hit by a car, your back is broken and you are moved off the road and put on your back in the gutter. The most disgusting part about this - the female wombat was ALIVE. Things like this just disgust me to the core. So she was on her back, unable to move, with a baby still in her pouch, with birds trying to peck her eyes out and bull ants starting to eat at her. THAT is the reality of what happens. I get sick just thinking about it and no, this is not the first time sadly. This happens a lot with wombats or other animals whose backs are broken and they cannot turn over and who are still alive.
As I said, I know not everybody cares but blatant cruelty to a living creature, I just do not understand and I cannot comprehend it. Off to do some work before the bad weather hits but thought I would share what comes our way. I wish it was always good news but sadly not so. At least the sun is shining and it is a beautiful day.
Wildlife run out at night on roads - of course it happens. Most get killed but if not, it is no problem to make a call. I know it upsets some people when they hit something and they just drive. Again, completely understandable but again, so simple to just call so it is dealt with by somebody else. It is not pleasant having to be somebody who puts a lot of animals down but at least it prevents the suffering.
Veg was one of the lucky ones as she knew to come back to the house where she knew she would be helped. She is not nearly in the clear yet but at least she has a good chance. Her baby is still alive so that is also a bonus.
Not so lucky was the female wombat found by another carer on the side of the road 2 days ago - imagine this dear people - hit by a car, your back is broken and you are moved off the road and put on your back in the gutter. The most disgusting part about this - the female wombat was ALIVE. Things like this just disgust me to the core. So she was on her back, unable to move, with a baby still in her pouch, with birds trying to peck her eyes out and bull ants starting to eat at her. THAT is the reality of what happens. I get sick just thinking about it and no, this is not the first time sadly. This happens a lot with wombats or other animals whose backs are broken and they cannot turn over and who are still alive.
As I said, I know not everybody cares but blatant cruelty to a living creature, I just do not understand and I cannot comprehend it. Off to do some work before the bad weather hits but thought I would share what comes our way. I wish it was always good news but sadly not so. At least the sun is shining and it is a beautiful day.
Sunday 23 September 2012
The hours just seem to be running one into the other here, no day or night specifically. Hard enough trying to do the food shopping! If you want variety in life, just add a toddler:).
I was going to put up a photo or two of Veg to show what damage a car can do but I think they might upset people. We are on day 8 and she has pulled 1 or 2 stitches out last night. Not good at all. If her stitches come out, we are in trouble. If her wound opened up, it would be the size of a side plate - a very big wound and we would not be able to restitch it.
We are going to bandage her back feet up so she cannot scratch but I am not sure how long that will last as until you have dealt with a wombat's stubbornness, its hard to believe what they are capable of. But we have to try at least. Her baby is still alive and doing well from what we can tell. Veg is otherwise relaxed and eating well so that is good.
Miss G, well she is just in a world of her own. She is recovering well. Boney Bum - he continues to cause havoc and fences around enclosures have to get higher and higher. Unbelievable. We have another attacked male who we have to catch and treat. Trying to get an injured wombat out of a burrow - not an easy task in the slightest.
Tug has finally moved up the back to one of the enclosures and he has turned overnight, literally. Which is good for his rehabilitation back into the bush - just another set of mobile teeth that we have to look out for and not be ambushed by. Wombats do not ambush people, please don't think they lie in wait in the bush *lol* however when young males 'turn', they do get very aggressive and while we have raised them, we have to respect their change as it is how they will survive in the wild. Sometimes in the early stages they will still come up from their burrow if they hear us so we have to be very careful if they do. The ultimate result is that they do not come up at all during the daylight hours which is what Tug has been doing for a while now so he is on his way to a great release.
Back to it here.
I was going to put up a photo or two of Veg to show what damage a car can do but I think they might upset people. We are on day 8 and she has pulled 1 or 2 stitches out last night. Not good at all. If her stitches come out, we are in trouble. If her wound opened up, it would be the size of a side plate - a very big wound and we would not be able to restitch it.
We are going to bandage her back feet up so she cannot scratch but I am not sure how long that will last as until you have dealt with a wombat's stubbornness, its hard to believe what they are capable of. But we have to try at least. Her baby is still alive and doing well from what we can tell. Veg is otherwise relaxed and eating well so that is good.
Miss G, well she is just in a world of her own. She is recovering well. Boney Bum - he continues to cause havoc and fences around enclosures have to get higher and higher. Unbelievable. We have another attacked male who we have to catch and treat. Trying to get an injured wombat out of a burrow - not an easy task in the slightest.
Tug has finally moved up the back to one of the enclosures and he has turned overnight, literally. Which is good for his rehabilitation back into the bush - just another set of mobile teeth that we have to look out for and not be ambushed by. Wombats do not ambush people, please don't think they lie in wait in the bush *lol* however when young males 'turn', they do get very aggressive and while we have raised them, we have to respect their change as it is how they will survive in the wild. Sometimes in the early stages they will still come up from their burrow if they hear us so we have to be very careful if they do. The ultimate result is that they do not come up at all during the daylight hours which is what Tug has been doing for a while now so he is on his way to a great release.
Back to it here.
Thursday 20 September 2012
Oops
Hmmm, you know you are a bit sleep deprived when you put your toddlers dirty clothes in the bin and the dirty nappy in the washing machine!!! Even worse, you don't realise you have done it until you go to turn the washing machine on!
Saturday 15 September 2012
I'm not impressed
Well, we found Veg.......with her neck half slit open, right down to the muscle and more. The only way she could have gotten an injury so severe is if a car has hit her and driven off. How she is still alive, I don't know. To the arsehole who hit her (it would have been around the property gate), all they had to do was come and tell us. So for 3-4 weeks, Veg has been trying to get back to the house for help.
She was rushed to the best vet in the world, Joseph at Gundaroo Vet Clinic and was in surgery for 1.5 hours. Watching Joseph clean out the wound, cut what he had to out and then try and stitch was just incredible. How he managed to stitch her up, I do not know and wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't been there. Worse still, we discovered that her baby wombat in her pouch is alive and well, about 2 months so Veg has to pull through. The wombat joey is far too young for us to raise, only a wombat can do that so if Veg dies, so will her joey.
She is in the house at the moment, in the wombat room at the back, still heavily sedated from the operation. The next 10 days will be critical for her. She has to be kept in a sterile environment and we can only hope that no infection gets into the huge wound.
What I find amazing is if a human had their neck slashed down to the muscle, about 20cm long, 10cm wide, there is no way in the world they would be standing and yet this wombat has made it for 3-4 weeks to get back home for help. Can you imagine the pain she would have been in??? So she will be monitored 24/7 now.
Miss G is recovering. Her wounds are healing slowly but she will still be minus one ear at least. As for the rest of her, her hair will eventually grow back over the scars. She is wanting to go outside for a few hours each day but cannot during the afternoon as she cannot go in the sun but try explaining that to a compulsive stubborn animal that is feeling slightly better!
So, another not so quiet week so far, wondering what the weekend will entail.
She was rushed to the best vet in the world, Joseph at Gundaroo Vet Clinic and was in surgery for 1.5 hours. Watching Joseph clean out the wound, cut what he had to out and then try and stitch was just incredible. How he managed to stitch her up, I do not know and wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't been there. Worse still, we discovered that her baby wombat in her pouch is alive and well, about 2 months so Veg has to pull through. The wombat joey is far too young for us to raise, only a wombat can do that so if Veg dies, so will her joey.
She is in the house at the moment, in the wombat room at the back, still heavily sedated from the operation. The next 10 days will be critical for her. She has to be kept in a sterile environment and we can only hope that no infection gets into the huge wound.
What I find amazing is if a human had their neck slashed down to the muscle, about 20cm long, 10cm wide, there is no way in the world they would be standing and yet this wombat has made it for 3-4 weeks to get back home for help. Can you imagine the pain she would have been in??? So she will be monitored 24/7 now.
Miss G is recovering. Her wounds are healing slowly but she will still be minus one ear at least. As for the rest of her, her hair will eventually grow back over the scars. She is wanting to go outside for a few hours each day but cannot during the afternoon as she cannot go in the sun but try explaining that to a compulsive stubborn animal that is feeling slightly better!
So, another not so quiet week so far, wondering what the weekend will entail.
Sunday 9 September 2012
A sleep would be good I have to say....
I keep saying it and I'll say it again, what the hell is going on this year with wombats, I have no idea. The attacks have increased tenfold and we are just getting in injured adults one after the other. Miss G is still alive and doing well on her antibiotics. Whoever attacked her went to town. Wombats as amazing as they are, one has to always remember what they are capable of in terms of survival. Only the fittest will survive, the others not.
Have also learnt that Daphne did lose her wombat joey. The last photo we have is of it dead in her pouch. This is very unusual for a wombat as they cannot remove the joeys from their pouches. As the joey was a good size, I have no idea how she managed to get rid of the body but I would say it would explain why she has moved burrows. I'm also guessing the joey died of pneumonia but then again, who knows. Very sad but Daphne is at least looking very good otherwise.
Veg turned up last night. After almost what, 4 weeks? Well, she has a cut in her neck, about 20cm long, 5cm deep, like she has been slashed. I knew something was wrong when we didn't see her at the feed station. She is very week so got picked up, into an enclosure, treated immediately, fed and we have to wait and see. The wound is too old to be stitched but also so big, I'm not sure if she is going to be left with a huge hole in her neck and shoulder.
As beautiful as the spring weather is, it means blow flies and this is a huge problem now with injured wombats as the last thing you need is them getting fly blown. At least the wind has died down and the day looks to be a gorgeous one which is good as there is a lot of work to be done outside today. We have to finish another enclosure, sort the wombat studio out for another injured animal, ensure Veg is okay, treat Miss G as well, oh and throw the shopping in for nappies while we're at it *lol*.
But you know what, I wouldn't change it for the world.
Have also learnt that Daphne did lose her wombat joey. The last photo we have is of it dead in her pouch. This is very unusual for a wombat as they cannot remove the joeys from their pouches. As the joey was a good size, I have no idea how she managed to get rid of the body but I would say it would explain why she has moved burrows. I'm also guessing the joey died of pneumonia but then again, who knows. Very sad but Daphne is at least looking very good otherwise.
Veg turned up last night. After almost what, 4 weeks? Well, she has a cut in her neck, about 20cm long, 5cm deep, like she has been slashed. I knew something was wrong when we didn't see her at the feed station. She is very week so got picked up, into an enclosure, treated immediately, fed and we have to wait and see. The wound is too old to be stitched but also so big, I'm not sure if she is going to be left with a huge hole in her neck and shoulder.
As beautiful as the spring weather is, it means blow flies and this is a huge problem now with injured wombats as the last thing you need is them getting fly blown. At least the wind has died down and the day looks to be a gorgeous one which is good as there is a lot of work to be done outside today. We have to finish another enclosure, sort the wombat studio out for another injured animal, ensure Veg is okay, treat Miss G as well, oh and throw the shopping in for nappies while we're at it *lol*.
But you know what, I wouldn't change it for the world.
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