It may well be Springtime but Bronson the Swamp Wallaby is convinced that winter is back with a vengeance!

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Sheffield gets a bubble bath.  Sheffield came into the shelter with a skin condition brought about by being out in harsh conditions alone.  He was too young to cope with the wet and icy conditions.  As a result his feet and legs were infected and his skin in general was very dry and sore.  This soothing bath in a recommended lotion helped heal his sores.

It is not ideal to bathe wombats as they are terribly strong and don't take well to this sort of handling. 

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This Blue Billed Duck was found in the middle of the road.  We held onto him for a little and then released him back onto a dam near where he was found.

Spot the Duck!

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This little echidna was found at Mount Burnett.  He had a skin condition and was very underweight.  He saw a skin specialist and was given medication and a special diet, his fur took some time to grow back fully. 

Named Bimbi we painted one of his spikes with red nail varnish so we could recognise him amongst the other echidnas in care.

He was eventually released at the shelter and is still seen from time to time

Baby look at me now!

It is 22nd September 2008

Bimbi is back at the shelter, popping in for feeds a year on from his release! 

He is looking fantastic - still a small echidna but as fat as can be.  And just look at his spikes - terrific!

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Little Diggers are a handful

These sleepy wombats almost perished on Victorian Roads.

That was the headline in the Sunday Herald Sun when photographer Alex Coppel came and spent the day with us.

Meet Spud and Chips. 

Spud only weighed 400g and Chips was about 700g when they came into care.  Totally adorable as all wombat babies are. 

Look how we have grown!

Here we can see Spud and Chips being loaded into the car on the way to Aunty Pams where they will live until their eventual release.  Wombats at this age are still quite cute but it won't be long til they are trying to bite your legs off, or charging and lip smacking, squelching and generally blowing steam through their ears in an attempt to eat you!

WOMBATS ARE NOT PETS

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Aaarkh is a white faced Heron.  He was found in someones backyard, a sorry looking little thing, very thin and tatty.  We think Aaarkh was a runt at the end of the season. 

He stayed at the shelter being fattened up and still comes home most days for his breakfast or supper.

Herons are Super Intelligent!

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Mabel the day after she was treated by the Healesville Sanctuary Vets.

Meet Mabel.  She was one of the worst cases the shelter has encountered.  Her mum was injured on the road and unable to protect her baby from attack by wild wombats  Then she was hit again and killed on the road, a member of the public found her baby.  We named her Mabel.  Her back had terrible injuries and the vets at Healesville Sanctuary think she may have been stung numerous times by wasps too!  With terrible abscesses on her spine and neck we nearly lost her a couple of times.  Amazingly she pulled through and went on to release.  She remained a wonderful and delightful wombat throughout.

Mabel on her release at approx 25kg.

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This Kestrel was found on the roadside.  He was probably hit by a car.  We took him to Healesville Sanctuary where he stayed whilst recovering from an eye injury.

We have since released him successfully back into his old territory.

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Fred exploring his burrow on his first afternoon out.

Fred came to the shelter via an inexperienced carer.  He was in a terrible state, underweight at 2.5kg when he should have been about 5kg, injured from trying to escape and a constant Head Banger!  He would sit in his bag furiously banging and biting the back of it for hours at a time.  After a lot of TLC he became a lovely wombat.

Fred was paired up with Wilma and lived with her until her release.  He then fell in love with Daisy, breaking into her enclosure on Christmas night and refusing to leave!!

They were eventually both released together (Fred then weighed in at 27kg) and were seen, still together, at the release site for some months after. 

 Fred at 26kg

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Wilma was Wendy's first ever wombat.

She was what we call a Phantom Sipper or Surrupticious Slurper!  She would take forever to feed, the only indication of her drinking was a slight curl of her lip now and then.

She developed beaver teeth!  We had them trimmed at Healesville a couple of times until they came good themselves.

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Yep, we had a bit of a Flintstones theme going - here's Pebbles.  A friend had Barney too! 

and here's another shot of Fred & Wilma, Fred looking the bees knees and Wilma still with her toothy grin!

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Just had to pop this photo of baby Dubbo in (he's about 800g)! 

See the size difference -

Baby Dubbo with the teddy and Big Wilma with the same teddy a few months before her release.

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These three Tawny Frogmouth chicks all came in separately.  From bundles of fluff with a beak and eyes emerges these wonderful little guys.

Seen on the far right was the funniest.  He was very verbal and looked like he had horns on his head.

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Posh is a sugar glider who came into care in May, 2007.  She was paralysed in both her arms and legs with very poor balance.  We think she may have misjudged a glide and fallen to the ground, suffering maybe some head trauma.  After extensive physio to both her arms and legs, she can now climb and leap and has made an excellent recovery.  Her balance is now good but she can never be released back into the wild as she cannot automatically open and close her hands, making flight impossible and feeding very difficult.  She was very vicious and bitey when she came in, a natural reaction to being taken into care as an adult, but is now very tame and friendly.  She will live out her days with her carer and earns her 'keep' as an educational extension of the shelter.

   See some up to date photos of Posh                                    on the Newsletter page 

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Hannah is a brushtail possum.  Her mother was hit and killed by a car.  Hannah was handed in to us as a very young joey who required 'dropper' feeding several times a day.  She quickly progressed to fruit and leaves and was in care for about 10 months before being successfully released back into the wild as a healthy adult.  She had a distinct personality and was an absolute pleasure to raise.

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