10 Jan The ‘real’ wildlife people
In late November, a wallaby was found on the leash-free dog beach in north Kingscliff. It was on the sand, close to the water, and in serious strife with a broken leg, unable to hop away. It was imperative that we got rescuers to the scene as quickly as possible, as the poor wallaby could be attacked by a dog at any time and subsequently suffer stress myopathy.
Corrina, Cheryl and Bruce got to the scene as swiftly as possible. It was about 7.30am and the beach was misty, and they walked about 1 km along the beach with little visibility before they found the animal.
As they approached the wallaby, a figure emerged from the mist. It was former member Michelle, who had also heard about the wallaby and had rushed to the scene. She had been busy keeping MOP’s (members of the public) and dogs away from the poor creature, who was lying on its side with water lapping at its head. A quick tide check meant the tide was going out, not coming in. Phew.
From down the far end of the beach, Corrina emerged carrying a rolled-up stretcher for the wallaby. As she approached it, it tried to hop away, regardless of the broken leg. Quickly she grabbed it by the tail and with Michelle’s help, bundled it into a thick blanket, then placed it on the stretcher, holding onto its tail to stabilise it.
While all this was happening, a MOP asked Corrina: “Has anyone called the Wildlife people yet?” Clearly, none of us looked the real deal! Too old? Too scruffy? No fancy, branded shirts? But there we were… carrying a wallaby on a stretcher along the beach.
Having recovered from the member of public’s enquiry about when the “real” wildlife people would arrive, Corrina dutifully transported the wallaby to Currumbin Wildlife Hospital.