Would you know what to do if you found an injured koala?
If you ever find injured wildlife, here are some steps that you can follow:
First, check for danger. Will you be safe if you help out? If you’re alone or with friends, call an adult or a teacher to assist you.
Keep other animals away and don’t try to pick up or touch the animal (unless advised otherwise by the wildlife rescuers). It’s also really important to keep calm and quiet because native animals stress very easily.
Next, make sure the animal needs rescuing (maybe it’s actually okay). You could do this by watching it for a minute to see if it’s just resting or trying to find its way.
If the animal is in trouble and on the ground, place a washing basket or something similar on top of it to keep it safe. Stay nearby until the rescuers come.
Don’t try to feed the animal, but providing a bowl of water may be a good idea – ask the rescuers for advice.
Even if the animal’s not moving, there may be a baby inside its pouch, so please ask an adult to call for help. You could try the RSPCA on 1300 ANIMAL or look on the
www.fauna.org.au website for a carer near you. Or ask your vet for the number of your nearest wildlife organisation, such as the National Parks and Wildlife Service. In Queensland, you can also call the wildlife emergency hotline on 1300 369 652.
Lastly, you could store the right number for your area in your phone or your parent's phone, just in case you ever need it!
Here are some other things you could do to help:
Keep the native gum trees in your yard. And if you can plant even more native trees, that would be great too.
Ask your parents and friends to drive carefully and watch for wildlife on the roads, especially at night or in low light.
Keep your dogs and cats inside at night. Even small dogs can hurt our native animals.
Ask your parents to think about building wildlife-friendly fences.
Like Rose, if you discover an issue, you could :
Write letters to politicians and newspapers urging them to make wildlife conservation a priority. You could even draw up a petition.
Record wildlife sightings so that action groups like the Australian Koala Foundation can map where koalas are located in your area.
Organise a fun run to raise money for research and rehabilitation.
Start a tree planting program at your school.