blind wallabies

Every so often one of our carers has a wallaby joey that goes blind. They develop cataracts and go blind quite suddenly. We don't fully understand what causes this but there are lots of theories. It in general seems to be those joeys that have had a very traumatic life. (ie the ones that were orphaned very young (pinkies), were injured (broken bones), dehydrated and gotten sick(diarrhoea etc)) It may well be something that we is not being met in terms of their nutrition or developmental needs as it seems to only occur in captivity but seems to happen very very sporadically. One theory is that joeys get too much oxygen by not being in their mothers pouch. So think it may be a virus and we have been looking for one but so far no success. It is a central blindness as well as cataracts so if you remove the cataracts they stay blind.
However they cope extremely well provided they are released into a predator free area (no dogs!) and with lots of other wallabies. They become very able at listening for the sounds of the other wallabies and very soon its hard to remember they are blind. They can breed and raise healthy seeing offspring.

Little Red Flying Fox

We had another little red flying fox caught up on a barb wire fence handed in over the weekend. This is her in the bag after being rescued but before being anaethetised so we could remove the wire. She looks very worried. However the wire was removed and the damage is repairable so she should be ok to be released in about a week.

Cockatoo

Unfortunately every few days we have a cockatoo handed in who is suffering from Psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) - It is caused by a small tough virus called a circovirus. It is uncurable and all affected birds die from it. They die from the imunosupression the virus causes but it also makes them loose feathers and eventually get beak deformities. It is very common and its likely that up to half of all wild cockatoos die from it. We cannot treat it, or help them so the best thing we can do for the affected birds is to euthanase them. Its only upside is that unlike almost every other disease & injury we treat in wildlife this is not caused by people - it is a natural & native virus.

Outback wildlife rescue is back

Just a quick note to say Outback wildlife rescue is back on chanel seven. Slightly earlier at 6:30 on sunday nights.

Freshwater croc.

We also have an injured freshwater crocodile in at the moment. She was hit by a car which broke her lower jaw so badly that it was only hanging on by skin. He is a photo of her before surgery and unfortunately we had to amputate the last 15 cm of her jaw. However it seems crocs are survivors not only has she recovered well from the surgery. (she is very feisty) but there seems to be lots of fat healthy crocs living out there in the wild with bits of jaw missing so she will be released in the next week of so once her medications are finished.

baby microbat

Sorry its been so long since we posted. Any one might think we have nothing to write about - far from it. We have been really busy which unfortunately means we are getting lots of sick, injured and orphaned wildlife brought in. Heres is a little orphaned microbat. His mum dropped hm. If you look carefully you can see the bruise on his head where he landed on the ground. He seems a little concussed but otherwise ok. He is now being handraised by a carer and hopefully if all goes well he'll be able to be returned to the wild. Its hard to tell which particular species he is at the moment since there is not much of him but as he grows we should be able to id him. At the moment he is on milk but as he grows he will need to learn how to catch insects in the air.

Microbat

This microbat was found in someones swimming pool. It was cold and wet but when we warmed it up we noticed it had a tear in its wing. We need to release these guys as soon as possible since they stress so much so we stitched the wing up. We should be able to release him in the next couple of days. the sutures are disolving.

Reggie the Wedgie

We have a Wedgetailed eagle that has a fractured wing. The Fracture is quite high up in the humerus so we had trouble stabilising it but seems to be healing well. He has a ravenous appetite and is eating well. He will ultimately head to the prison for rehabilitation and subsequent release.

recent arrivals

Magpie goose
the magpie goose is well in it's self but there is some concern about his leg. He is currently undergoing consideration as to how well he would survive back in the wild if he only had one leg. flight birds of some types can often cope with only one leg. x rays tomorrow will determine the full damage and determine the next step.

thank you to the kind people who dropped him off.

Baby Owl
the baby owl is in good condition and will be sent out to a carer in the next couple of days. he has nothing wrong with him just too young to be out on his own. he will probably end up at the prison raptor house where he will be cared for until released.


Black cockatoo

he has definitely broken his wing, X-rays in the morning will determine the full extent of the damage and whether or not pinning it will be successful. He is definitely a male with bright red tail feathers and will be sent on to join a family group before being released back into the wild assuming all goes well with the surgery. watch this space as i am sure his surgery will end up here.

baby birds.
baby birds of many different types have been bought in over the weekend, so many in fact that it is hard to keep up with them all. please would be rescuers remember that baby birds are best left where you find them. place them back in their nests or make them an artificial nest out of a containers with holes so they don't drown and then put them back as close to where you found them as possible. the mothers and fathers will hunt for them and continue to take care of them even though you have touched them. don't be tempted to feed them, leave them where they are unless you are an experienced carer and know what they feed on. feeding them bread crumbs and water for several days before bringing them to a carer almost guarantees that they will not survive, so be a wildlife rescuer and put them back where you found them. (there are exceptions to every rule but mostly this is the best for the bird.)

this weekend has seen an enormous amount of animals being brought into care, so many infact that it is hard to list them all here but i will attempt to update this site with as much info as i can so that you an keep track of the animals you rescued.

please be patient with us as we work on this new system.

Carpet Python

Today we had a small carpet python that had been caught up in wire. Presumably she was after the birds on the other side. Fortunately while the wire was very tight it was simply a matter of snipping it off so that we could free her. She was uninjured so has now been released a long way from the birds.

Emma the Flatback

Emma the sea turtle

This weekend saw the release of Emma the flatback sea turtle, i can't believe the difference between her arrival and her departure. when she first came in she was swollen and pink, her flesh stuck out from around her shell, now she is swimming of the coast somewhere happily back in her home environment.

Emma was released at Dundee Beach by the people who found her, Paul Arnold the bush Photographer had a three hour drive to rescue her initially and her took her back to a welcoming crowd of well wishes her then waved her on her way.

I always think of Sea Turtles as serene animals gentle and non aggressive but Emma showed us a completely different side, she was the crankiest turtle i have ever come across, unbelievably fast moving and she had us all ducking so that she couldn't bite us. At least we know that she is a surviver and i am sure that it was this fierceness that helped her recover as quickly as she did. hopefully Richie the little sea turtle who was hit by a boat will recover as well.

any body wanting to contribute to our Sea turtle rehab is quite welcome to contact us for information on how they can help.

Pelican

We have also had a Pelican brought into us. It is another teenager who has not managed the transition from being cared for by his parents to looking after himself well. He is very thin and emaciated but otherwise is very healthy. We took xrays to check for fishing hooks etc that are another common cause of thin pelicans but none are visible. So he will simply require feeding up so that he can have a second chance at a wild life.

Green Turtle

We have had another sea turtle brought into us. He was a "floater". He has pneumonia and as a result was unable to submerge himself. The pneumonia caused him to loose a lot of weight - he is emaciated & exhausted. As a result of him being unable to submerge he was hit by a boat which has fractured his shell. So there is lots of repairing required. We need to fix the fractures in his shell, treat his pneumonia & put a lot more weight back on him.

Kookaburra

This Kookaburra came in today with a fracture in its distal humerus. It was most likely caused by being hit by a car. It is in good condition and amuses everyone with its distinctive call. Surgery to pin the wing will take place tomorrow.

Rainbow Bee Eater

The pinning went well. We got good stability in the little Falcons fracture and she recovered uneventfully. She will stay in hospital for a few days and then go to the Prison for her rehabilitation & recovery.
Just on closing we received a Rainbow Bee eater. He has been attacked by a cat. Bite wounds are always serious and require prompt treatment with anitbiotics. Bee eaters tend to be fragile birds that often die from shock when they need care. So far this one is doing well.

Little Falcon

We also had a Little Falcon brought in today. He was found by the side of the road so was probably hit by a car He has a wing fracture that will require surgery. (pinning). Which I am just about to start. Will Keep you posted.

Slatey Grey snake

Today we got an adult slatey grey that got caught up in bird netting. He was really tangled and the netting was starting to cut into him. Slatey greys are not venomous but are very jumpy bitey snakes so releasing him from the netting was a task. We cut away the netting and treated his fortunately minor wounds and he has now been released.

Little Red Flying Foxes

There has been quite a number of Little Red flying foxes caught on barb wire fences in the last week. We have been rescuing at least 2 a day everyday! Barbwire is very bad for flying foxes because they are big and use their eyesite to navigate they often get caught up on it. The wounds they get (mouth wings etc) trying to get off are heartwrenching. They are such lovely creatures and certainly don't derserve to end like this. Often they are so very badly damaged by the time we get them and so don't survive. However they are survivors and so help us to help them and we do get to get quite a number through to being released again.
here is a photo of me removing one from barb wire.

juvenile Tern

We had a juvenile Tern ( a type of sea bird) come into care today. He seems to be very thin and exhausted. He is a teenager who doesn't seem to have been able to find his way in the world yet. We will feed him up so that he puts on some weight and release him again to give him a second chance.

Nankeen Kestrel

This little nankeen kestrel was hunting for insects over a dry season fire when got hit by a passing car. This broke its wing. It then landed in the fire and singed it's feathers and burnt its eyes. Fortunately the people in the car rescued it and brought it to us. We have pinned its wing and are treating its burns. The burns to its eyes are very painful but should heal ok.

28th August 2008

Emma the flat back sea turtle is our patient of the moment. She came in a few days ago after being rescued by a fishing charter off Dundee beach. Emma has pnuemonia so has difficulty diving. She bobs along on the top of the water like a cork. This is exhausting for the turtle and if left untreated they eventually die from dehydration and exposure. She was particularly sick when she arrived, gasping for breath and quite septic. We have started her on antibiotic treatment and she is responding to our care well. Hopefully when she fully recovers we will be able to release her back to where she came from.

The Ark Animal Hospital Blog.

Hello and Welcome to the Ark Animal Hospital Blog.
We are intending on sharing about some of our more interesting wildlife patients and their care.
Hope you enjoy it

Stephen