Spring has sprung and the WILVOS 5441 6200 Hotline has been getting very busy. Some
phone call problems can be solved quickly, but others take time and planning. Hats off to the
WILVO hotliners, and to the transporters and carers who carry on the great work.
This week saw the final outcome of one of those phone calls. Rusty, the adorable Rufous
Bettong, was taken to his wonderful release property. Already resident wild bettongs are
checking him out through the pre-release paddock fence. There are no dogs or cats, and over
300 acres (over 120 hectares) of grassland and forests, with creeks on one boundary and a
thousand hectare conservation park on another.
Survival cannot be guaranteed, but eliminating as many dangers as possible is the goal. This
is a beautiful place with grazing areas, blady grass which bettongs love to use for making
their ground nests, huge eucalypt trees with numerous hollows full of arboreal native animals,
and even an area of rainforest. It is wildlife heaven! Weed species are removed or controlled
and it is so refreshing to see natural grass growth instead of the often precisely manicured
small acreage blocks, with no patches of habitat left for wildlife.
Rusty has been a fascinating native animal to prepare for the wild, observing little things like
the way the tops of his ears curl inwards when on high alert! Though only in care for
seventeen weeks, a short time for macropods, it has been enjoyable and very challenging
when he fractured his leg. Thank you to miracle worker Charlotte, Heather and staff at the
Woombye Vet Surgery. Rusty passed all of his fitness tests, once again stretching, jumping,
climbing (maybe he thinks he is arboreal!), and racing around at breakneck speed!
I do miss him!
Donna Brennan Wildlife Volunteers Assoc Inc (WILVOS) PO Box 4805 Sunshine Coast Mail
Centre Q 4560 PH 5441 6200 www.wilvos.org.au
Rusty, It’s goodbye…as the old song said!
