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:). 

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

Miss G is back......

Just when you think you have seen it all......Yesterday morning, I did the normal rounds of the enclosures and for some reason, went down to Tug's enclosure as he was banging (he should have been asleep). In the corner of his enclosure was a shivering, bloodied wombat. Tug was trying desperately to get away. It was darling Miss G. Somebody out there has attacked her so so badly. There is not a part of her body that has not been bitten. Sometimes I dislike wombats for what they do to each other, cannot help it BUT it is the nature of the animal and of course, only the strong survive. I just find it amazing that she jumped INTO an enclosure to get away from whoever was attacking her.

Will she pull through? I do not know. Will have to wait and see but it has broken whatever spirit she had for now. I cannot explain what the hell is going on with the wombats right now. I do not think it was the resident male who did this to her. I think there is a rouge male around the place as all the wombats at the feeding station are so jittery. They bolt like anything if they hear a sound, as if they are scared of who the sound is coming from. Normally when they are within their territories they have a certain amount of confidence. Not of late. The females with joeys have disappeared as well. So I'm thinking that is the reason for Miss G being attacked so badly, or the fact that she is seen as 'weak'.

No sign of Barney again either. After a good dose of rain his burrow is flooded so not sure where he has moved to. I did find 2 new burrows close to the house yesterday but am not sure who is in them as yet.

And just for the record. Looking after numerous wombats and working full time IS easier than raising a toddler! :)

What do?

So, what do toddlers, german shepherd puppies and wombats have in common? They ALL take plants out of pots. After managing to save my plants from the odd wombat that visits on the deck and the dogs, they now have to fend off a toddler. Alas, if they survive this, they are the strongest pot plants I know of:). The dogs got an ear lashing of 'don't do this', and then for me only to later in the afternoon come across one toddler pulling out the plants I had so delicately re potted earlier in the day! This was then of course followed by a tantrum as she was told to leave it. Remind me why we have children? Its certainly not for the peace and quiet, that I can tell you:).

I have no idea of what is going on with the wombats, maybe they know spring is on the way and warmer weather, who knows but their habits have changed drastically over the last week or two. We only see Boney Bum every night, still no Veg and Daphne comes every few nights. I think I have figured out where Barney has gone (or the burrow should I say).  Its strange that so suddenly, their routines have changed and we are talking creatures of habit here. Like I said, maybe they know spring is on the way as it certainly feels like it today. Nights are still very cold though. My first thought is oh no, snakes will be coming out soon. That is one brilliant thing about winter, no snakes to watch out for. In a few weeks, every stick will be a potential threat when walking:).

!!!!!

So Barney has left again. We took him up to an enclosure after his course of antibiotics and he is not yet better but he has escaped so I hope he stays away from trouble for a while. At least he has been fed up for a few nights and regained some strength but somehow I think we are going to see him again, in the same state, if not worse. There are some wombats that just don't cope or who aren't aggressive enough. Sadly you only find them when its injured or dead mostly but we will remain positive and think that he has learnt his lesson again.

Trying to get up to do work in the enclosure area with a new baby and toddler is challenging to say the least. And when the two dogs come with, oh boy, I just about give up. Indy is starting to show signs of intelligence *lol* at almost 9 months. She is stubborn though but is coming along with her training. Bella is just gorgeous, she is 21 months old now and truly an amazing dog. I'm hoping Indy will learn from her. Still no Vegemite at the feed station. Its been more than a week now and I don't have a good feeling about her not coming. She has ALWAYS come every night. We are going for a walk this evening to check burrows and the creek, maybe we will see something.

Update

So, the enclosures are not even getting a day's rest right now with the amount of animals coming in. Not sure what is going on this year but so many attacked/injured adults. Not many baby wombats coming in, which is of course good but with the adults, not sure. The enclosure area is chockers again, full house. The new enclosure going up already has an occupant waiting to come here and more on the waiting list.

Barney - he has had one bad experience out there in the wild. He is showing some very odd behaviour. We did move him from the studio last night up to an enclosure so hopefully he will now start to regain his confidence. He has finished his course of antibiotics and his wounds are looking a lot better. Boney Bum continues to cause havoc at night and patrol the enclosure and house site area. Veg hasn't been for at least 4 nights which is VERY odd as she is always the first at the feeding station. We are going to check her burrow tonight as normally she is a late riser and you can find her lying close to the entrance as the sun goes down and it becomes dark. She is pregnant so not sure if her change of habits are due to this. Still waiting for Daphne to arrive with her wombat joey at some point which would be at foot.

Thank heavens for the night webcam as it means we can get some sleep while everybody does there thing at night:).

Barney is back!!!

Yesterday, driving into the property, around noon I came across a wombat at the causeway, not looking too good and as the number one rule for me is - if its out during the day, there is most likely something wrong. Yes, something was definitely wrong. It has a few severe attack injuries which are fly blown even in the cold weather, limping so not running fast at all and severely underweight. So........you do what you do at Sleepy Burrows, catch it. That didn't take too long or much effort which gives me an indication of the state of the animal.

The wombat has turned out to be Barney who went AWOL around January this year if I recall. He is not in a good way and has obviously been struggling out there a bit. Somebody has also gotten hold of him and done some serious damage. He got his antibiotics and is in the studio. He ate copious amounts of food initially and has then slept for over 24 hours solid now. I have just checked on him and still sound asleep BUT has done his business where he sleeps.

This is very unusual for wombats as they are very clean animals. This indicates to me that he is either too sick to get up or was being attacked and bullied so much that he only came out during the day to feed. Not sure which one but the next few days will tell. For now, he is resting and can sleep safely.

Happy days

Miss G is back, thank goodness. Indy found her in the bush this morning and I heard heaps of screaming. She has been given a bit of a hard time it appears, or mated, not sure yet which one but otherwise she is happy to be back and went straight into her enclosure. I feel so relieved. I know she cannot cope in the wild on her own. As long as she goes on her adventures and comes back, I'm okay with that:).

Still going....

I still miss Johnson. Still feel so bad that I couldn't save him and had to make that decision for him. Its been a shocker of a week wombat wise. 2 dead wombats on the dirt road, both really healthy animals, such a waste for somebody to slam into when driving too fast. We also managed to get the manged wombat so that had to be put down immediately. At least that wombat we have helped as it would have been suffering for a long time. It was in a very bad way.

There has been some good news. There is a strong chance that Daphne is now leaving her wombat joey in the burrow at night when she comes to the feed station. We have put the night webcam at her burrow in the hope we may see her with it. Hopefully we will see Daph bring her joey to the feed station in a few weeks/months - with all the bad news of late, it would be a wonderful thing to see.

Still no sign of Miss G. I do worry about her, cannot help it. Have been to look for her but no sign so I have no idea as to where she has gone. I'm still hoping she will come back to the enclosure area at some point as she has done in the past. Will have to wait and see. Otherwise all wombats behaving (sort of) and we have two new residents coming in shortly, both females thankfully. All the wombats we have in care now are males, except for one female so more of a balance would be good.

I don't get it sometimes.....

I know that a combination of the good and bad make life worthwhile. In other words good times would not be good if you didn't experience bad times. That does not mean you have to accept or like the bad times or events. Daphne has arrived with no baby joey. What does this mean? I would say it is dead. That gorgeous little girl didn't get much of a chance at life did she? Here the wombats are as safe as they can be in the wild with the support if its required. If a little wombat joey cannot survive here for whatever reason, it makes me wonder how bloody hard it is for them in the wild. The success rate must be hideously low. Its sad to see her with no bulge anymore. And her behaviour has changed dramatically as a result. She is no longer the brave mother wombat but more a timid wombat again.

Miss G has also decided to go AWOL. I wish she wouldn't. She is not all there mentally and cannot stand up for herself but she insists on getting out. I'm hoping she will turn up again as she normally does after a few days.

RIP dear Johnson

A very sad day for me. I could not fix Johnson. I had to make the gut wrenching decision to have him put down yesterday. I feel like I have failed him, after raising him to virtual release. The world can be cruel sometimes. I hope his autopsy results will show me that there was nothing more I could have done for him. RIP my little guy, you will be missed.