What to do if you find injured wildlife:

Wildlife can unfortunately get injured, often due to motor vehicle accidents and attacks from other animals. The first thing to do is to prevent further harm by moving it off a road or keeping other animals away, but only do this if it is safe for you to do so. Always remember these are wild animals who are likely to be stressed so be careful of biting and scratching. If you cannot safely contain the injured animal, contact the local council or Wildlife Victoria on 13000 94535 or 13000 WILDLIFE to get a local licensed wildlife carer to assist in the rescue.

Once the animal or bird is in a safe environment, reducing stress and maintaining warmth is important as they will be a state of shock. A warming box can be improvised with a hot water bottle, towels and a cardboard box. Wrap the hot water bottle in the towel and place it on the bottom of the box. Place the injured animal into the box and cover with another towel. Move the box to a quiet, warm place away from cold drafts.

Transport the injured animal to a veterinary clinic or contact Wildlife Victoria. It is best not to attempt to treat any problems yourself as this can cause further distress to the injured animal and possibly result in injury to you if it bites or claws you.

If an animal dies please check if it is a female. If there is a baby, possibly in a pouch, then it may be able to be saved. Contact Wildlife Victoria to get a carer to take the baby for nursing care.

For more first aid care information go to the Wildlife Victoria Website:

www.wildlifevictoria.org.au

To report injured Wildlife Please call:

13000 WILDLIFE or 13000 94 535

Wildlife Victoria is supported by public donations and volunteers alone so please assist them by making a donation today.