One month ago today, Elsie and Barney were released safely into the wild! With four possums in care and the arrival of two cygnets, I remain busy – plus I still teach in a primary school every day. However each day I look outside at the wombat enclosure (where my pet rabbit now runs free) and I’m reminded of Elsie and Barney. I still miss them every day! However I have a little more freedom – freedom from worrying about them during rainy nights, freedom from collecting bags of grass, freedom from having to shop for kilos of sweet potatoes! I’m happy knowing they are where they belong – living their best life in the wild – safe, happy, free!
To celebrate one month on, I decided to make a movie! Enjoy!
Made using Imovie.
Wildlife continues to arrive in care – they don’t stop needing help. So on we go – but the memories of E and B, will always bring me a smile.
Memories!
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The big day finally arrived! Well the big day arrived two months ago, but it ended up being postponed due to border closures because of the pandemic. So Elsie and Barney were more than ready for life in the wild! Our morning started with a cuddle from Elsie – did she know her big day had finally arrived?
Then the travel crates were positioned inside their enclosure. I put some sweet potato and my fluffy dressing gown that Elsie grew up with, in the crate so she went in happily!
Elsie in!
Barney wasn’t as thrilled to see a big crate so he took a little more convincing. It’s not a simple matter of just picking them up – both Elsie and Barney are heavy and they bite!
Angry Barney.
Barney hiding in his burrow. Photo credit Evan Croker.Barney in!
Finally when both Elsie and Barney were in their crates we were ready to set off on our travels!
Barney ready to go.
Elsie isn’t happy!
A hug from another carer helping with the release – she’s checking in with me before we finally drive away … this is what support looks like. Working with wildlife is partly a team effort and this release couldn’t have work so well with out Laura and Evan!
Photo credit Evan Croker
For safety, two cars were taken with Elsie and Barney separated in different cars. The only thing worse than a wombat escaping from a crate while traveling would be two wombats escaping!! So it’s easier and safer to transport them separately!
A release isn’t just a matter of driving to the bush and dumping wombats! Researching the area and site visits have to be undertaken to locate empty burrows, ensure there’s a water source, an abundance of feed and that the site is away from humans and roads. Luckily the perfect place was found, two hours drive from Canberra, with nearly 600 acres of beautiful land with creeks and dams. The property owner has several of our wombats on his property. He has positioned cameras so we can monitor each burrow. This is a supported release – back into the wild but within a safe area. After a long drive we finally arrived and unloaded Barney.
Barney out.
Then Elsie!
Elsie out.
We had a bit of a crowd!
Elsie was happy to follow me but Barney seemed a little overwhelmed! He stopped to smell everything and wee on everything to leave his scent – there’s a new boy in town!
The property owner showed us where the empty burrow was located – in an area called Fairy pond gully – such a beautiful new home for Elsie and Barney. Elsie loved it immediately! In fact she loved it so much that she claimed it first and didn’t really want to share it with Barney!
Mum! I don’t want to share with Barney!
Barney is inside.
Barney even tried leaving a wee to establish some rights to the burrow – much to Elsie’s horror.
But Elsie was determined to keep her burrow to herself! She stood in the entrance growling so Barney started digging his own burrow right outside her door!
I sat for a very long time to ensure that both Elsie and Barney were happy and not stressed. I took a bag of their poo with me which was emptied out and placed around their burrow – this is like a welcome sign for wombats to make them feel at home! Seriously! It means their smell now marks their territory and sends a message to others as well. Finally both Elsie and Barney settled in.
When everything was peaceful it was time to go. The final goodbye….
Goodbye.
In my last post, I wrote about the heartache that release time can bring for me especially after nearly two years with Elsie! So how do I feel now? To be honest, I feel better than I thought I would. How could I not be happy to have both wombats settled into such a beautiful area? I am relieved, this is what I work so hard to achieve. That’s not to say that when I look outside tomorrow morning at an empty wombat enclosure that I won’t feel a little sad (!) but I know that Elsie and Barney can now have the life they were meant to lead.
Elsie – from 120 grams to a happy 22 kilos !
Barney – from 600 grams to 20 kilos!
My job is done – I can relax now! Live your best life Elsie and Barney – you are home! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
For those readers new to my blog – welcome! Other readers will know the story of Elsie and Barney. But let me re-cap – Elsie arrived weighing just 120 grams – so tiny! She is the tiniest wombat joey I have ever had the privilege to worked with.
Elsie
Barney joined Elsie months later weighing 600 grams. By the time Barney arrived in care, Elsie had overcome her struggles, survived wombat herpes, beaten a vitamin deficiency, recovered from a severe skin reaction to the sun and was a similar weight to the newly arrived Barney. Their full story can be found in my earlier posts.
Barney
Now, nearly two years on – it’s time for Elsie and Barney to be released into the wild. This time, the time to say goodbye is full of … excitement and happiness, a little trepidation and considerable heartbreak. Yes, I’m glad they survived to this stage, but no one knows the sadness a carer feels when release time comes. The Instagram photos, this blog, even the stories I tell, don’t do justice to the journey I have had caring for Elsie and Barney. I’ll tell you a secret…. I don’t really like getting up around the clock, I am terrible without sleep, I also never attend functions and cancel on people all the time ”because the animals need feeding”, I hate collecting grass and picking up poo – but it’s all part of what I do.
The end of Elsie and Barney’s time in care also represents the end of exhaustion – where I can finally stop and fall in an emotional heap. The initial worry that Elsie wouldn’t survive since she was so small, cleaning out her tiny nostrils so she could breath, using creams on her skin, giving vitamin B orally and just stressing over every change, every milestone and that every weight increase was enough ~ was exhausting! Once Elsie and Barney moved outside I worried about them being outdoors! Now I worry that they are so big, so wild, that they’ll escape their enclosure and drown in my pool! Every morning, my day starts by looking out of my back window at their enclosure to ensure it’s undamaged then at the pool to make sure Elsie and Barney haven’t managed to get out and drown in the pool! That sort of negative start to the day can be exhausting. All this sounds terrible but it’s not! There are so many joys, so many memories!
Elsie!
What will stay with me are the quiet times – the laughs, the cuddles and the joy that I wish I could articulate and the moments that go unseen because the camera wasn’t on. Caring for these animals is a privilege but that’s nothing to the love and joy they bring me. They make me a better person, they give me a unique sense of purpose, they remind me to be patient, to give up control because I can’t control what happens, and they give me an abundance of love. Sharing your life with an animal that would be enclosed in a secret world of a pouch, that has never opened its eyes before until it sees you, is an amazing experience. I thank Elsie and Barney for the joy they have given me.
Goodbye film using Imovie.
A big thank you also to the readers of my blog and the thousands of Instagram followers who have followed the journey of Elsie and Barney almost from day one! I have had the opportunity to share Elsie and Barney with so many lovely people both in Australia and overseas. People have asked many questions and have taken the time to reach out and communicate! It’s not about generating ’likes’ or followers but rather educating others about these wonderful creatures. Maybe more people will slow down on the roads, stop to check pouches of run over animals or donate to animal charities. The many people that have reached out to me via Instagram along this journey, remind me that there is more kindness and good in the world than horror. I am forever thankful and a little overwhelmed by your kindness and support! I appreciate it more than you will ever know.
Cuddle time!
I’ll be blogging about other animals in care soon. But the story of Elsie and Barney is coming to an end. The memories however, will remain. ❤️
Yes, there’s actually a day these delightful creatures are celebrated – October 22nd!
It started around 2005 and ever since then Oct 22 is known as Wombat Day in Australia. Some call it World wombat day, but I doubt half the world even knows about wombats (despite my blog!) let alone celebrates them! The day isn’t a holiday and even many Australians don’t know about it, but for wildlife carers – it’s a very exciting day! Aprons go on, wombat shaped cookies are baked and we spend most of the day playing with and talking about our wombats! Makes me wonder if every day isn’t wombat day since I spend most days talking about wombats!
New clothing line…..Holes by Elsie!
Nom nom nom – sweet potato!
Naturally to celebrate such an exciting day, I just had to make a new movie! Enjoy!
Wombat Day video.
Film made using Imovie.
Release for Elsie and Barney is now only a few sleeps away. The stress is building! I’ll be blogging more soon!
Please share a link to my blog but all images and videos are copyrighted. 🐾🐾
Are wombats vicious or dangerous? This is one question I am asked the most! Like any of us, wombats will protect themselves, their young and their territory. A wombat’s first response is to run for the safety of their burrow! Once they are at the entrance of their burrow they will use their large body to block the entrance to avoid predators following them in. Alternatively, the wombat will poke out their butt (under all that fur, their butt has a cartilage plate) and then they will try to crush the predator’s head between their cartilage covered butt and the roof of the burrow. Sorry I don’t have an image of that!
Image of Elsie courtesy of Evan Croker photographer
But wombats also use a series of vocalizations to scare us away. Remember wombats are primarily nocturnal (although you might see them out and about on overcast days). So, if you heard the noise in the video below when you were in the bush, in the dark, would you hang around to find out what animal was making this noise or would you run! I suggest you run!
Turn the sound up!
So what about wombats in care? Those cute little bundles of love with thousands of Instagram followers? How do we ever release ”tame’ wombats that have been in care for so long? Surely they never become aggressive?
Elsie! My little bundle of love!
The animals in my care are never ’tame’ – they are loved but never tamed. The animals go through a series of stages of development – just like children. Once wombats are ’semi adults’ they move to outdoor enclosures and we slowly withdraw the hands on love (but not the care) as they naturally begin to develop the instincts they need to survive in the wild. Elsie is ready for release! Wow is she ready! So is Barney but he’s a month younger and for some reason hasn’t yet become as aggressive and as vocal as Elsie. I now wonder how much longer it will be before Elsie (or Barney) actually turn on me! The question is would she turn on me? I don’t really want to find out!
Elsie just grumbling at me! Would she turn on me?
The images below have appeared elsewhere in my blog – the result of ‘play’ between myself and another semi adult wombat who was previously in my care. She adored me but also used me as a means to practice defending herself as she would in the wild.
I now only observe Elsie and Barney ! I ensure that their enclosure is clean and safe, that they have an abundance of food and water but other than that – it’s strictly hands off! Neither Elsie or Barney come when they are called by their name – I am now just someone they used to know!!! So sad for me – but their behaviors now tell me they are ready for the wild – they can survive without me! From initial feeds every two hours to now – where I sneak in their enclosure in the day to tidy up and replace their water, then I RUN if I hear them get up! So many hours and hours of love and care have paid off.
Time for release.. they are ready!
Elsie
I’ll be blogging more soon. Feel free to share a link to my blog but all images and videos are copyrighted. Thanks. 🐾🐾
In what little spare time I have, between teaching and caring for wildlife, I enjoy making movies ! With a diva wombat like Elsie and clueless Barney, I have the perfect actors! Nothing is ever staged – filming demonstrates wombats natural love of cuddling, rolling, playing and fighting!
Made using Imovie.
This film shows some of Elsie’s develop from when she arrived in care as a tiny 120 gram wombat to now a whopping 20 plus kilos! Her journey has been a long one, nearly 2 years with a few hurdles along the way, Barney arrived in care weighing months later weighing over 600 grams – he now weighs over 18 kilos.
Release back into the wild where these two belong is fast approaching! I’ll be blogging more soon!
You can follow Elsie and Barney on Instagram- wombats_and_wildlife_heljan09.
My lovely Elsie and Barney are well, fat and happy! Most animals in care are slightly heavier compared to the same species at the same stage of development that is living in the wild. That’s because animals in care have an abundance of food and very little stress!
Just relaxing in the sunshine!
However, although life is good, Elsie has naturally developed the skills she will need to survive in the wild. The most important one – growling at anything or anyone!
Sound up! That’s Elsie grumbling!
Elsie though still loves a cuddle!
Well, Elsie loves a cuddle when SHE feels like it!
Barney loves exploring the garden – becoming confident and ready for the wild!
Elsie and Barney spend all their time outside now preparing for life in the wild. However sometimes Barney remembers the great indoors and wants back in!
Elsie though uses a clever strategy to keep me outside with her. Lying on my feet so I can’t move!
Although I don’t actually spend much time with them now (to help them separate from me), I still need to check them out occasionally to ensure they are well. But the count down is on – release is getting closer. They don’t have any bottles of milk now and rely on native grasses as they would in the wild. I know they can find grass, dig a burrow, growl or run if scared and generally survive without me! The babies that once ran to me, now run to a burrow – the perfect defense for life in the wild. The burrow now represents safety – mum does not, because mum won’t be there! 😭
Running for safety!
You can continue to follow Elsie and Barney’s development for a while yet. I’ll be blogging again soon !
Please share a link to my blog, but all images and videos are copyrighted. 🐾🐾
As I wrote in an earlier post, many brushtail possums come into care – some hit by a car like Ted’s mum. But possums also face other problems – territorial fights, stress dermatitis, thrush or other illness, poisoning, animal attacks, burns, being trapped or abandoned. Many people also hate possums! They claim possums get into their roof. But possums in a roof space signal a roofing problem – not a possum problem! That possum has found a hole where your heat is escaping! So get a one way flap trap that locks the possum out (they leave at night and can’t re-enter) get the roof fixed, put up a possum box in a tree and learn to love with these delightful creatures! After all, we’ve dumped our homes on top of theirs! But this is Tilda’s story…
Tilda
Meet Tilda !
Tilda came into care because she was abandoned by her mum. Perhaps mum was ill or maybe mum suspected that there was something wrong with Tilda. We will never know. Tilda arrived in care weighing about 250 grams, similar in weight to Ted. However, while Ted is relaxed, Tilda is bitey! She not only holds on with her claws, but also her teeth! Ouch!
Hanging on – with claws and teeth!
Tilda’s fur is grey and orange in colour. Ted is a more all over grey colour. Once Tilda had settled in and began accepting her 4 bottles a day, it was time to introduce her to Ted. Although possums are solitary animals, we buddy up wildlife so they learn how to be animals by copying each other’s behaviors and it reduces the bond with the carer.
Tilda meets Ted!
Ted was very gentle with Tilda! Part of being a possum is developing the muscles and strength to climb since they mostly arboreal. So in the evening – I am a tree! 😂 I sit and allow Ted and Tilda to practice climbing on me. Since I’m also ’mum’ it gives them bonding and nurturing time too which is vital to their development.
I am a tree!
Tilda and Ted are thriving in care! Their weight is increasing, they love their 4 bottles a day (from now I’ll increase the volume of possum milk and reduce the quantity to 3 bottles a day), they love fruit and they are healthy and happy! For now they live in pouches in a large cage inside my house.
Ted continues to be relaxed and Tilda is slowly calming down – I’ll be blogging more about them soon. You can also follow their development on instagram wombats_and_wildlide_heljan09.
Welcome to the prerelease stage! This is the stage where Elsie and Barney prepare for release back into the wild. They are so big now and since wombats are nocturnal, most of their fun takes place at night!
Growling, hissing and grunting – it’s all in fun!
Elsie and Barney are now getting up – ready to run around when I’m tired and preparing to go to bed!
They have their moments thought where they want me to stick around! Getting back inside without them isn’t easy!
Mum, don’t go!
Elsie and Barney still have 2 bottles each a day. One early in the morning and one at night. It’s winter here in Canberra and very cold. I spend my time sitting on the back steps bottle feeding or walking around the lawn keeping an eye on them. It’s cold – sometimes minus 5, sometimes storming and I’m always freezing. This is the less glamorous side of wombat care! When this storm hit, Elsie and Barney ran for their burrow – leaving me trying to quickly get back in the house.
I’ll be blogging more soon. The countdown is on – release isn’t far away!
You can follow us on instagram wombats_and_wildlife_heljan09. Please share a link to my blog but all images and videos are copyrighted.
We receive many joey brushtail possums in care. They arrive in care mainly because their mum has been hit by a car and killed. Ted was found lying on his dead mum’s body by the road. Ted was protected from injury inside the pouch but as mum’s body went cold, he crawled out and sat on her waiting. Joeys cannot regulate their temperature so Ted very quickly started to get cold and decline. Luckily a member of the public was walking their dog and spotted the dead mum. He also found the cold and almost lifeless Ted lying on top of her. He thought Ted was dead! Luckily he picked Ted up, wrapped him in a towel for warmth and called us!
Sleeping in the humidcrib.
I received Ted into care and placed him in a warm pouch in a humidicrib! Slowly he started to warm up. Ted was then checked for injuries and weighed. Weighing every animal helps me determine their stage of development and age. Ted is around 4 months old.
The first three days in care are the most important. During this time, regardless of the best care being provided, an animal can just give up! The trauma, the loss of mum, initially being cold or not wanting an artificial teat and formula can exhaust any animal and they just die. But if they survive the first few days, their chance of survival increases and I can relax, a little!
Wake up it’s bottle time – a little yawn from Ted.
Luckily Ted is a fighter! He accepted each bottle, slowly gained weight and accepted me as his new mum. He often sits and stares at me as if he notices that I don’t look like the animal he crawled out from! Maybe he wonders where his ‘real mum’ has gone. During one of my zoom meetings during the pandemic, Ted sat and started at me from his himidicrib! He wanted to come and join me!
Cute as a button!
Ted has four bottles a day – one every six hours. After a few days he started accepting small bits of fruit as well which is another good sign. He loves banana!
Perk a boo! Ted just showing how cute he is!
I’ll be blogging more about Ted soon so you can follow his journey to release. You can also follow him on Instagram wombats_and_wildlife_heljan09.
Thank you for your interest in and care for our wildlife! Feel free to share a link to my blog with other animal lovers but all images are copyrighted. 🐾🐾
Working with Australian Wildlife - Helen Hardy 