New friends

A little light during some dark times…

Recently we had the privilege of getting to peek into the lives of some extremely humble, hardworking and passionate local wildlife carers.

I had the pleasant opportunity to meet Jeff one day whilst he completed some small jobs around our house. We got chatting and he mentioned that he and his wife had rescued and were caring for many different species of wildlife. The rescued wildlife resided with them on their property, some even inside their house. 

Once Jeff had finished his work and left for the day I couldn’t stop thinking about how crazy it was that these people spend all their own money, time, love and emotions caring for animals who otherwise stood no chance of surviving in the wild.

Weeks passed and as the fires became more and more devastating I kept thinking about Jeff and his wife. He had mentioned that they were already inundated with calls for help before so much more of our land and fauna had been destroyed.

Feeling extra creepy, I managed to track Jeff down through a few emails and phone calls through his work and eventually got hold of him. I asked if there was anything our family or small community could do to help out in the time of need. His response was casual, yet slightly desperate as he stated “with the drought, fires and heat our critters are all suffering”. He also mentioned that he had saved 30 bats which were currently living in his living room (Eeeeeekk! – Will touch on the notorious bat and how they’re wildly misunderstood a little later).

After conversations with both Jeff and his wife Linda, who is the primary carer of their rescued wildlife, we were sent a list of items which they frequently use for caring for the animals. However although some vouchers for places like Bunnings, chemist warehouse etc were on there they specifically asked for ‘NO CASH’ which I thought was quite selfless as they wanted to ensure everything is and always about the animals.

After posting on my private Instagram account, the INCREDIBLE people of Newcastle rallied together! They dropped off so many sheets, blankets, pillow cases, medical supplies & vouchers. THANKYOU so much, you have NO idea how many blankets Jeff & Linda now have to keep these tiny marsupials warm and cosy. I sure didn’t realise how much effort went into it until I saw how they all lived in their make-shift pouches.

We were super excited to drop off the collections, so much so that the whole family went to visit and say thankyou to Jeff & Linda. Also, I should note that as I grew up surrounded by animals my entire life, I have LOVED seeing Olive so bravely interact with all sorts of animals. Hell, she’s even been bitten by an emu and a cat and didn’t cry. Instilling in her compassion, admiration and love for our wildlife is something I take quite seriously as a parent and hopefully to pass down to her, as my mum did to me.

When we arrived at Jeff and Linda’s, they also had a very special friend there who takes most of the older animals to her property for a ‘soft release’ as she has safe land to slowly re introduce orphaned animals into the wild. She had a joey sleeping in a sling around her chest (EXACTLY how I carried the girls as newborns) and told us about all the beautiful animals she also cares for.

A few things that really stuck out:

She mentioned all of the Kangaroos that she has released onto her property still have the natural instinct of retreating back to the house in the case of an emergency, such as a fire or violent electrical storm. Even though they have fully adapted and thrived to their new life in the wild, they will still always feel safest in her warm living room. 

There are specific animal groups for the animal carers. Unfortunately, in recent devastating times many of these carers have found it too hard to cope and in fact there have been extremely high rates of suicide. These selfless animal carers simply cannot cope with the idea of losing all their rescued animals along with their properties in the fires.

Due to deforestation and the recent fires wiping out so much natural habitat, they are running out of places to safely return these animals to the wild.

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After a long chat, we got to say hello to a few special friends on the property! GORGEOUS Tawny Frogmouths, possums, flying foxes, micro bats, Eclectus parrots among SO many other birds, and of course the joeys. We were told two little koala’s are on their way to Jeff and Linda’s from Queensland at present, so we’ll absolutely be back to say hello to them!

Surprisingly the humble Bat, or in this case flying fox, is actually a CRUCIAL part of keeping our native forests healthy. They disperse seeds and pollinate flowering plants. So now, more than ever, they play a vital role in regenerating our forests. Also should be noted, there is NO evidence that their poo spreads viruses to humans, and although a SMALL number of flying foxes have been known to carry the Hendra virus, there are no known cases of direct transmissions of infection from flying foxes to humans. So lets cut these guys a break, they are actually pretty cute!!

I am thankful for the opportunity to have Olive witness the good in people who ask for nothing in return and to see her love for nature grow. When we left Jeff & Linda’s she told me she was going to be a ‘Kangaroo carer’ when she grows up, so we can call her experience a huge success.

A massive thankyou to Jeff & Linda for letting us into your home and sharing your stories with us. Although I know everyone has donated their hearts out recently, they DO have a GoFundMe page set up to raise money and purchase and acreage that adjoins the Dharug National Park on the Central coast which will be a safe haven for the sustainable release of their animals. So even by sharing their GoFundMe page, you’re creating awareness and bringing attention to these individuals doing their best.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/hope-mountain-wildlife-sanctuary?sharetype=teams&member=3513256&utm_medium=sms&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&pc_code=sms_db_co2876_v1&rcid=f5aa4d281ac6429ca8d094d013f5e181