Animal Welfare Australia Project #44512

Support Australian wildlife rescue to release

by NSW Wildlife Information Rescue & Education Service (WIRES)

Project Report | Apr 15, 2021
Platypus are one of the world's most unique animals and your support has helped save this one.

By Dianne Browning | Digital Communications

Rescued Platypus being released back to the wild

The platypus is one of the world’s most unique animals. Platypus live only in Australia and they are one of the few egg-laying mammals known as monotremes.

These fascinating creatures have an extremely streamlined body and a bill that is covered with smooth, soft skin. The skin of the bill contains specialised sensory receptors that enable them to navigate underwater.

Our volunteers are out rescuing native animals every day and it is relatively rare that we receive calls to assist a platypus. Platypus are listed as a 'near threatened' species, making every single life saved and returned to the wild critical for the long-term survival of the species.

As a valued contributor to our project "Support Australian wildlife - Rescue to Release" we would like to share this special story and rare footage of a rescued platypus being released back to the wild.

A couple of weeks ago a platypus had found its way into a water treatment plant and the concerned staff immediately called WIRES rescue line for assistance.

Everyone involved was relieved that there were no injuries detected and that after a few days of veterinarian observation at Taronga Wildlife Hospital to ensure all was well this little one was ready to go back to the wild.

While the platypus was in care large parts of NSW were experiencing devastating floods and it was not until the flood waters had receded that the plans in place for his release could be actioned.

He made a splash back into the wild after being transported for release by a member of the WIRES Emergency Response team and is expected to thrive. We would like to share with you this special video of his release.

Ordinarily, on release a platypus would slide immediately into the water and swim away, but we were fortunate enough to witness a platypus returning to its natural environment and enjoy every moment, his activities on release were almost a thank you gift to all the hard work our volunteers do rescuing and caring for so many animals before their release.

Each and every rescue and release relies on the support of those who care about our unique wildlife. Your donation goes to ensuring we can reach more animals in distress and get them the help and care they need sooner, so on behalf of all the animals and WIRES volunteers, thank you.

Regular donations allow us to better plan for the future and allow us to direct more time and resources into our life-saving rescue and care services. Choosing to become a regular monthly donor to our project "Support Australian Wildlife - Rescue to Release" will provide ongoing life-saving help for all the animals we rescue.

Rescued Platypus back in the wild

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Dec 18, 2020
We remain focused on increasing our capacity to rescue and care for wildlife.

By Dianne Browning | Digital Communications Manager

Black Flying-fox in care

Looking back on the past twelve months it’s hard to believe what the world has endured - it has truly been a year like no other. Extreme weather events, bushfires and COVID-19 have provided the backdrop to major challenges for humanity and the environment across the globe.

At WIRES we remain focused on increasing our capacity to rescue and care for more wildlife on an ongoing basis and improving preparedness to better respond to major wildlife emergencies. Another priority focus is habitat recovery, as without healthy, sustainable forests and wild species populations, the animals we rescue and rehabilitate have nowhere safe to be released. Simply put, without the wild, there is no future for wildlife.

The lead up to Christmas is always our busiest time of year for rescues, with carers looking after many sick, injured and often orphaned animals. With your ongoing support it is our privilege to keep working to ensure native animals can be returned to the wild now and in the future.

Over the Australian Summer bats are just one of the special native species we rescue. Bats, both megabats and microbats are among the most important yet most misunderstood animals on our planet.

With your help we have been proud to support Green Heroes in the production of an informative wildlife film series and we would like to share with you this insightful video about Flying-foxes and microbats.

We have done a lot this year and there is a lot more planned for 2021. Thank you for all that you have done to assist wildlife. We are deeply grateful for your support.

Without you, none of this is possible. If you are able to give a gift to support the ongoing rescue, rehabilitation and recovery of wildlife, please donate today and share our project. In October alone we received over 21,000 calls for help.

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Thank you from everyone at WIRES

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Sep 3, 2020
Thank you for supporting Australian wildlife

By Dianne Browning | Online Communications Manager

'Marine'- Female Koala rescued by WIRES

Thank you for your support of Australia's unique wildlife.

As we head into the Australian Spring/Summer season the number of calls for help to our rescue line increases sharply. Our Rescue Line receives more than 170,000 calls for help each year and the next 3-6 months are our busiest. Spring is breeding season and our volunteers are inundated with orphaned wombat, possum, kangaroo and wallaby joeys as well as the chicks of the many amazing native birds in our country. Your support is helping us to ensure we continue to improve our capability to respond to the growing need for help.

Today we would like to share with you the story of just one of the animals your support has allowed us to rescue, care for and recently return to the wild.

This time last year an extended and extensive drought had been wreaking havoc across vast areas of Australia and the impact was becoming more and more evident to WIRES volunteers on the front line, as natural sources of food and water ran out.

Many species were forced to roam increasingly further afield in their search for food and water which brought them into greater contact with people, vehicles and domestic animals. Koalas were one of the iconic Australian animals deeply impacted by both the drought and the subsequent bushfires.

In January, this 2 year old female koala was rescued when she was found walking along the road. Koalas had been increasingly forced to move around looking for the limited number of eucalyptus trees that still had some leaves with moisture.

Marine, as she became known was taken into care with WIRES, not as a result of injury but sadly because she was starving.

Fortunately, after 7 months of high-quality care, building up her weight and after some reasonable rain fell in the area she had come from, Marine was finally ready to be returned to the wild. We are pleased to be able to share with you a video of her recent journey back to the wild.

If you would like to support our ongoing work rescuing wildlife and getting them back to the wild where they belong please share our project - Australian wildlife from rescue to release. If you are able to commit to a recurring gift this helps us better plan for the future and is greatly appreciated.

We hope that through sharing our experiences with these animals and telling their stories, we can bring more people on our journey to understand more about our unique Australian animals.

On behalf of the entire WIRES team and all the animals you have helped, thank you.

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