Wilbur the Mudlark was left with an injured wing on Sunday after being struck by a car. The incident happened at Golden Beach, Caloundra, and luckily for Wilbur a wildlife carer lived close by and was called to assist.

Wilbur’s left wing was badly bruised making immediate flight impossible and far too painful.

Injuries that render birds flightless leave them susceptible to dog and cat attacks, wild bird predation or starvation as they are unable to move from food source to food source.

It is important that injured limbs are x-rayed to check for fractures which will need appropriate veterinary treatment. If a fracture is left to heal on its own, the bones can become misplaced causing them to heal crooked which makes flight and movement very difficult, impeding the birds’ long term ability to survive in the wild.

Luckily Wilbur’s x-rays were clear, showing no fractures, so Dr Stacey prescribed anti-inflammatories, pain relief and cage rest while the swelling and bruising subsides.

Wilbur will be due for reassessment in a week, at which time he will either be sent to the bird carer for further rehabilitation or released back home to the wild. He is certainly a lucky little bird considering he weighs only 80grams and a car weighs over a tonne, but most importantly someone took the time to stop and call for help.

Mudlarks are very common and widespread throughout Australia. They are more commonly known as the Peewee in New South Wales and Queensland.

Call the Australian Wildlife Hospital on 1300 369 652 for all wildlife emergencies.

Hooty is a Southern Boobook Owl that was found unable to fly properly due to an injured wing. Hooty was given sub-cutaneous fluids at a local vet surgery and then sent to a wildlife carer. The carer brought Hooty to the Australian Wildlife Hospital for x-rays, which showed a fractured right wing.

Due to the nature of the type of fracture and where it was located along the wing, surgery was not an option. Instead, one of our vets, Dr Stacey, wrapped the right wing with a figure-of-eight bandage to immobilise the wing while the bones healed. Dr Stacey also prescribed pain relief, anti-inflammatories and two weeks of rest and plenty of nutritional food for Hooty.

Hooty is now due to be reassessed in a couple of days and all going well, he will enter into flight rehabilitation stage of his recovery. This will help Hooty to regain his wing mobility and flight strength, which is so important for raptors, as they are predators.

Boobook owls are nocturnal hunters, feeding on small mammals and insects which they detect with their excellent vision and then immobilise with their long talons. Boobook owls are found right across Australia with habitats ranging from open to dense forests.

Hello Warriors,

Check out this video I made to help spread the word about Steve’s Place.

Save Steve’s Place

Cheers,

Stevo in the USA

Hi!

Just a short notice. If you do not like to see crocodile’s skin cut off and pasted on a piece of paper, please do not advance.

HI again. I have some bad photos of people killing crocs to get their skin. Btw, i got this when i went for an outing to a crocodile farm. Prepared to be shocked!(Or not.)

I made it small so people will not be disgusted. What this post is talking about, is NEVER EVER buy wildlife products and NEVER EVER support them.

See You Soon

blue_mode_1

James and Andrew were called up to Peachester for a very sad rescue. Dogs had attacked an adult female Koala and Joey. Sadly the mother Koala died before the team arrived, succumbing to the injuries.

James and Andy were able to carefully rescue the Joey from a nearby tree, and safely transport it back to the AWH for treatment. Luckily the Joey is almost old enough to survive on its own, and will be released at Peachester soon!

Sadly it’s not just wild dogs that attack native wildlife, not a day goes by where there isn’t another rescue call for a dog attack snake or koala or lizard! If you have a dog at home, bring it inside or lock it away at night time, and let our native wildlife move through your backyard without danger!

If you find an animal that is sick or injured, please call Australia Zoo Rescue on 5436 2000.

Hi fellow wildlife warriors! If any of you live in Southern California I want to invite you to my Steve Irwin Day fund-raiser. Wildlife Warrior Wednesday will be held on November 11, 2009 at The Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, CA. This is a great Comedy Show with 100% of the $15 ticket price going to Wildlife Warriors. You must use the promo code WILD when purchasing tickets and you must show up for your money to be donated. Full details are at www.rememberwildlife.org I hope you can come! If you can’t make it but would still like to donate you can. Please go to my hero page at http://www.everydayhero.com.au/rememberwildlifeSID I am one zoology student making a difference. Together we can save wildlife! Whoo Hoo! Thanks and good luck to everyone’s fund-raisers. Rebecca

This week our featured patient is a juvenile Green Tree Snake named Dilution, who was admitted to the hospital suffering puncture wounds from a cat attack.

On many occasions, patients that are admitted with injuries made by dog or cat bites will be prescribed a course of anti-biotics so infection doesn’t set in. The actual bite might not be life threatening, but if it is left untreated, the infection certainly may.

This little Green Tree Snake was given the name Dilution based on the tiny doses of medicine he has been prescribed by Dr Arana. When calculating how much medication to give to a patient, the vet bases this on the patient’s individual weight and as Dilution only weighs 16 grams, this makes his doses very small! Some of Dilution’s medication includes receiving a 0.0003mls injection of sub-cut anti-biotic.

Green Tree Snakes are common in suburban areas and are frequently encountered in backyards. These snakes are non-venomous and, as the name suggests, spend a considerable amount of time in trees and shrubs. When annoyed, they flatten their body showing their blue skin colouring, which is normally hidden under the green scales and they will also sometimes produce a foul odour.

Dilution is due for a re-check in seven days and if all is well he should be taken for release back to the Shorncliffe area.

The Green Tree Snakes’ diet includes frogs and skinks; fully grown they can reach around 1.5 metres in length and be thicker than a ten cent piece.

Call the Australian Wildlife Hospital on 1300 369 652 for all wildlife emergencies.

Late one afternoon the AZ Rescue crew got a call from a family business at Elimbah. They were reporting a magpie that was up a large gum tree, attached to a nest with fishing line! The rescue crew got there just in time as the sun was setting and quickly hooked up our lines and Andy began to climb!

Magpies quite often use lots of different types of nesting materials to make things nice and comfortable for their young chicks, and fishing line is sometimes used as part of the nest.

Once Andy was up near the nest, he noticed that it was actually one of the parents stuck in the line, and there were two chicks in the nest. The other Adult was calling out from a tree nearby, reassuring the chicks and the injured parent.

Andy hooked up one of our trusty tools and was able to cut the line, and Kado caught the Magpie from below. Once on the ground, we were able to cut away the fishing line that was tangled all through the legs and wings of the Magpie. We transported the injured Maggie back to the AWH for treatment and Andy spent the next half hour up the tree, cutting away all the extra line from the nest so that the chicks would have an injury free start to their lives!

For any Wildlife Emergencies please call Australia Zoo Rescue on 5436 2000

The Year 1 students of Talara Primary College had a fantastic day at the Australia Zoo recently. We saw lots of great animals and we even got to touch some animals we had been learning about at school. The crocodile felt bumpy and the koala was soft and furry. It was amazing to see so many animal babies. The cassowary chicks were running around looking for food and the new koala joey was adorable as it clung to its mother. We would love to know how old the joey is. We have learnt that koala joeys are about the size of a jellybean when they are born and then stay in their mothers pouch until they are fully developed. The wombats were playful as they chased a zoo keeper and the croc show was by far everyone’s favourite. Thanks to all the staff for making it a memorable experience had by all.