WIRES Hawkesbury Summer Advice

WIRES Hawkesbury Branch is starting to head into its busy season as the warmer weather arrives. Hawkesbury’s volunteer koala coordinator, Morgan Philpott, is dedicated to caring for injured animals and wants to spread awareness of wildlife safety as we head into summer.

WIRES in the Hawkesbury is run by volunteers who catch injured animals, nurse them back to health and release them back into the wild. Morgan, with the help of his team, and a trained veterinarian is currently treating a 5-year-old koala named Daphne for chlamydia.

Most of the koalas they treat at their property in Richmond are sick with chlamydia. Morgan mentions that when Daphne was first picked up, she couldn’t even open her eyes due to disease. Thankfully, Daphne is about halfway through her treatment and already looks much improved. Once she is finished her treatment, the team at WIRES Hawkesbury will return her back where they found her in Kurrajong.

The property for WIRES in the Hawkesbury has room to house up to 4 koalas at a time and in peak season Morgan says they can have all 4 spaces filled. Koala breeding season runs from September to February which means more males may be seen out and about looking for a mate.

Like koalas, many other animals have their mating season soon as we head for the warmer months. This means you will be seeing a lot more animals around in the Hawkesbury and surrounds. Hawkesbury is rich with biodiversity, with hundreds of bird species alone, and that means the work of WIRES Hawkesbury branch is just that much more important. It is vital that you know when to call WIRES and what to do if you see an injured animal.

It is very important for WIRES to keep track of koalas as they are an endangered species. “Even if someone sees the koala and it looks quite healthy, it’s still good to phone WIRES and put it in as a record of sighting”, Morgan says. This record of sighting then goes into the WIRES database which feeds into the BioNet database. Morgan says this is important as developers use the BioNet database when looking for places to develop, which is becoming an increasing concern as animal habitats are being lost to developments.

Sometimes when WIRES gets a call about injured wildlife, the animals have already walked off before they arrive. If it is safe to do so, you can trap the animal until help arrives. Morgan says it all depends on the type of animal. He says to not try and contain snakes, as they can kill you, or bats, as they carry harmful diseases. Some birds can have very sharp talons which can also seriously injure.

Koalas themselves can prove dangerous in trying to capture. “I’ll always advise people around koalas that if you feel confident to do it, we’ll explain how to do it. Even if it’s just getting a washing basket to stick over the animal on the ground, put a blanket over it and secure the blanket with a couple of bricks. Then we know when we get there, the animal is there, and it’s a fairly low level of risk for the members of the public”, Morgan says.

With the warmer months meaning an increase in animals around, it is important that people stay vigilant. As Morgan says, “Animals tend to come across our paths more, so if they’re sick, then people will see”. It is important to contact WIRES if you do see an Daphne the Koala who is receiving treatment at WIRES Hawkesbury Branch injured animal, as it could save their life. Koalas, for example, can die from symptoms associated with chlamydia. Daphne’s chlamydia caused her to go blind which meant it was harder for her to find food and defend against predators. For animals like Daphne, the work WIRES do is very important. In the 2023 financial year, WIRES was able to assist 131,167 native animals in need.

If you wish to support the work of the volunteers at WIRES Hawkesbury Branch, you can donate directly to them at www.wires.org.au/branch/ hawkesbury. To find out how to become a WIRES volunteer, the WIRES website details courses you can take and how to get involved: www.wires.org.au/wildlifevolunteering.

If you find an animal in need, please contact WIRES at: 13 000 WIRES or 1300 094 737.