AceNewsDesk – At a bush property in south-east NSW, a mob of kangaroos is hopping around with colourful bandaged feet.

Ace Press News From Cutting Room Floor: Published: Oct.29: 2023: ABC News: TELEGRAM Ace Daily News Link https://t.me/+PuI36tlDsM7GpOJe

The look is no fashion statement — it’s to help the pads of their feet that were burnt during a recent bushfire.

The injured roos are recovering at the Cobargo Wildlife Sanctuary, privately operated by a couple dedicated to helping native animals.

The bushfire they escaped from at Coolagolite Road impacted nature reserves, two national parks, outlying buildings, and destroyed two homes when it raged through 7,300 hectares of bushland from about midday on October 3.

Despite the passing of a fortnight, the fireground remains active and unsafe to enter.

A total of 25 native animals were reported to wildlife rescue organisation WIRES during rescue operations in the wake of the inferno.

Of those, it looks like the 11 eastern grey kangaroos sent into the care of the sanctuary will live.

Medical check-ups

The sanctuary is owned and operated by couple Gary Henderson and Sara Tilling.

One of its most valued connections is Bermagui vet Carl von Schreiber.

It’s a sleepy Sunday afternoon, five days after the initial bushfire.

Dr von Schreiber is at the sanctuary to assess the burn victims.

Together, the trio works calmly to sedate the injured roos in the enclosure.

A tranquilliser dart is fired and within minutes, a large male becomes wobbly on his feet before he succumbs and keels over to sleep.

It’s go time for the team.

Dr von Schreiber begins to carefully unwrap the kangaroo’s old bandages

The wounds look fleshy and sore, with the outer edges of the fur coat singed from the fire’s flames.

“We’re undressing the wounds, looking at them and seeing how deep they are, re-treating them and bandaging them up,” Dr von Schreiber says.

“So far, the kangaroos have fairly superficial wounds. They’re certainly going to be painful, but I’m hopeful they’ll make a full recovery.”

No stranger to bushfires

While it’s the first time the sanctuary has cared for kangaroos afflicted by burns, it’s not the first time it’s come in the path of fire.

The couple’s home was lost in the 2019–20 Black Summer bushfires that ravaged their Yowrie property.

“There was absolutely nothing to come back to,” Ms Tilling says.

Since the Black Summer fires, they have lived in three tiny pods — generously donated by Animal Rescue Cooperative — which has allowed them to continue their mission to save animals.

“Because we’re the only facility on the south coast that’s set up to rehabilitate large, injured animals, they’ve all come to us for care,” Ms Tilling said.

“There’s quite a large network of rescuers that all work together. We work very closely with a number of different organisations.”

Road to recovery

The couple has attended more than 500 kangaroo rescue calls and successfully rehabilitated and released approximately 170 since January 2020.

Four years since the disaster, their property is once again filled with kangaroos, most having been rehabilitated and released by the pair.

“After the bushfire, there was nothing left,” Ms Tilling says.

“Now we come home and they’re bouncing across the driveway and we see them on the hills again.

The couple has received some financial help from animal organisations, and were helped by generous donations from fundraising done after the 2019 fires.

But from day-to-day medical supplies to feed, it’s mostly from their own pockets.

It’s our whole lives. I work and also look after kangaroos and Gary looks after the kangaroos full time,” Ms Tilling says.

“You don’t have holidays. You don’t have days off. It’s even hard finding time to go out for lunch.

“Once you get involved with them you realise what beautiful, kind and intelligent animals they are. We just can’t walk away.”

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