Sampling of recent Wildlife Vic rescues.

Ducklings. Springtime means ducklings in suburban backyards, crossing busy streets, falling into sewer drains, falling prey to every predator imaginable. My calls involve relocating ducks and their broods to southeast Melbourne's few lakes and/or ponds. My large net comes in handy. Some calls are better than others, but it's not unusual to have a report of 8 ducklings but by the time I find them there's only 4 remaining. Still, to watch a mama duck protect her healthy ducklings is one of the great benefits of animal rescue. It's a reminder of the Herculian lengths parents will go to protect their offspring.

Exceptionally windy weather brought this Great Cormorant into an elderly gentleman's yard near the waters of Port Phillip Bay. It was weak from battling the elements but its bill could have taken one of my fingers. A beautiful animal that didn't survive.

Another joy of doing animal rescue in Australia is, of course, spending even brief amounts of time with kangaroos and wallabies, especially the young. This trio gathers in the utility room of a carer in Blackburn.

Springtime arrived with a bang this year in the form of dozens of calls for orphaned possum joeys. It was no surprise to learn recently that this past winter was the warmest on record -- my colleagues at Wildlife Victoria have been responding to calls since early August.  

I found this Brushtail backrider in the pouch of her dead mum, who'd been killed by a car. She was much too big for the pouch but followed her instincts and took shelter. I brought them both to SARC in Highett in the evening and returned the following morning to bring the joey to a carer in West Melbourne.

A fledgling Magpie waiting to be fed as I transport it to a carer.

Fledgling Magpie and Noisy Miner. The Miner hopped around the carrier, often landing on the Magpie's head.

The Kew Fire Brigade cut this young female Ringtail down from a flimsy tree branch where she's become entangled ten metres from the ground. I brought her to a vet in Hawthorn, where she had to be euthanised the following day after losing use of her tail.

This juvenile Rainbow Lorikeet was brought to a fire brigade in South Melbourne. It's now with a carer in Templestowe. 

Tiny Ringtail shelters beneath its tail in the palm of my hand.