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Cobargo Wildlife Sanctuary

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24.01.2022 We always approach every rescue call out with hope, sometimes the hope can fade quickly, but occasionally it can be unexpectedly restored. This guy is a case in point. Hit in the face by a car on the Princess Highway just north of Cobargo without the driver stopping, he was blessed as sisters Jacinta and Crystale from Bega stopped to check on him. He was lying on the road in a pool of blood and they did so well to stop him being hit again by passing traffic. On arrival he... was moved off the road and sedated but from the blood loss and severe facial injury it seemed there was little chance of him even surviving the short drive back to CWS. Somehow he did, and so he was made comfortable with pain relief and soft bed for the night. We expected him to have passed during the night, yet the next morning here was a roo hopping across the enclosure, and it was him! No way! A visit to Dr Carl at Bermagui on Monday gave him a slim chance, but the left eye needed to be sutured shut (whilst his face heals) as he could not blink and we needed to see if he could eat. Can he eat? Yes he can and the swelling is slowly going down so maybe, just maybe we'll get him through..... See more

22.01.2022 If you don't like the sad stories then now's the time to look away, but this little warrior deserves an honourable mention. He was a Kipa Ann rescue and came to us Friday carrying an awful injury. His left ankle was so deformed his foot had folded up, yet this brave little fellow had been trying to carry on following his mum and mob day after day. From the moment of arrival he totally trusted us, drinking from the bottle and allowing his ankle to be cleaned and strapped. While given a pouch, his tenacity and mental strength astounded us as he climbed out to graze with the other roo's, and spend time in the sun. Over the weekend with us he found love, comfort and security before visiting Dr Carl Monday. Little man you inspired us and we salute you...........RIP mate.

20.01.2022 It's a harsh reality that nine times out of ten, a kangaroo hit by a car will either die or have to be euthanized. With kangaroos caught in fences the odds are better at around 50/50 but in any case they usually need specialist help. Over the weekend we took in two from vehicles, one from a fence entanglement and had one injured male die in the car. The good news is Zelda, who was rescued by Kipa after a being hit by a car is the one in ten and looks to have an excellent c...hance of recovering to be released. Her very small joey is in great hands with "pinkie specialist' Linda Krulz and she also has excellent prospects of eventually joining her mum at the Sanctuary. Now the sad part. Kipa also rescued a beautiful male kangaroo who had been entangled in a fence. He has walked around the enclosure today and enjoyed lying the sun but unfortunately the extensive injuries to both feet from the fence wire means we can't help him recover. He is one of the friendliest wild roo's we have ever had in care, and if there was anything we could do, we would. We're so so sorry mate. We will tell you the story of the other kangaroo that came into care this weekend next post. See more

20.01.2022 Even at the Sanctuary without human kids we still have to deal with the terrible two's. But in this case its two of them and two kgs+ each but Chase (2.4kg) and Felix (2.8kg) are not at all terrible. True the new late night feeds have taken some adjustment for us but these new little guys have been an absolute pleasure to care for so far. No sign of any development tantrums here and pretty much toilet trained already. Really looking forward to being part of their early lives and then watching them take their rightful place with the mob on the sanctuary.

20.01.2022 Well its been along time in the wings but today little Ticka finally made the long trip to Howard and Glenda Ralph at Southern Cross Wildlife for his eye surgery. Jacky Boy went with him to have the progress of his broken leg checked and while Sara and Alexa left at 7.30am this morning, they are not expected home before 9pm. Word just came through that although Ticka only had one eye done, all went well and he now has some vision. He was the first macropod to be operated on with the new equipment so it took a little longer than expected. Just waiting on Jacky Boy to be seen next! Update. Jacky Boys leg is still aligned ok but just needs bit longer. So that's great given what he did this week!

20.01.2022 It was a sunny 'almost spring' day at the sanctuary and the perfect occasion to let the three youngest have their first run outside the enclosure. It also enabled them to meet some of the released roo's, most of whom didn't get up, and really stretch their legs for the first time. It all went beautifully and it was a bonus for the carers who saw big Harley, and a Wallaby mum with joey having one of its first looks at the world. These kangaroos and wallaby's are the beginning of the population rebuild here.

20.01.2022 Where for art thou volunteers?? Certainly missed them this weekend as the needs of injured wildlife kept on mounting. In between a trip to Southern Cross Wildlife at Braidwood we were kept busy with several call outs and the needs of the ones we have in care, meaning our normal Monday trip to Dr Carl at Bermagui is a full load. Cooper, the male with his eye sutured shut has had a big reduction in swelling so hopefully the stitches will come out. Also attending will be 'Yellowtail" (well know to the residents) from Wallaga Lake who has a tumour coming out of her pouch and "Arky" from Dignams Creek who was caught in a fence this morning but does look saveable. See also in the photo Jacky Boy is doing well and now moving around the full enclosure as we approach the 6 week mark.

19.01.2022 Well this weekend has had its moments but tonight its Jacky Boy's time to shine. It's coming up to one month since the alignment of his broken leg, and he has been an absolute saint while in care. At night he sleeps on a mat in our room, and now during the day has his own pen. He is friendly and cheerful and only now becoming a little anxious when he sees the young ones zooming around and he wants to join in. An x-ray tomorrow will hopefully be revealing about the healing.

19.01.2022 On Saturday we were pleased to be able to provide a warm welcome and ultimate safe release site for these three little treasures. Lovingly cared for under WIRES by Clare and Reece from Kioloa, there were some tears shed as they said goodbyes to Halo, Ollie and Charlie. All three are friendly and well balanced with the big move being taken in their stride so far. Here at the sanctuary we look forward to assisting with the next stage of their development so they can soon be hopping free. Thanks Clare and Reece and we hope you can visit them soon.

17.01.2022 Reward Offered For Missing Persons A reward is on offer for anyone able to assist with the return of two missing wildlife carers. They were last seen at the Cobargo Hotel on Sunday the 6th of September and its rumoured they may be around the Jindabyne area. They are personable, adaptable, friendly and can wear disguises with it being reported they are impersonating Au Pairs. Just joking of course and a big thanks to Alexa and Alice for their four months with us helping out... at Cobargo Wildlife Sanctuary. The caravan now stands forlorn with the fairy lights a distant memory. The joeys and kangaroos all have questions in their eyes, and we will break the news to them slowly. Apparently it was something to do with needing to earn money for future travel around Australia. Good luck and best wishes from everyone here at Cobargo Wildlife Sanctuary. See more

16.01.2022 It was really touching to see Jacky Boy meet up again with his first response rescuers last night. He immediately went up to Jackie, who he hadn't seen for 3 months, and gave her big kisses for helping to save his life. His movement is slowly improving but he has now developed a childish habit of climbing into any vacant pouch at at any time. Being now over10kg he is too large for most pouches but luckily we had in stock one only four string 'super pouch' made by our good friends and master pouch makers Heather and Cheryl. They are also wildlife carers on the mid north coast and have been amazing help to us this year. Jacky Boy has been told that use of the 'super pouch' use will only be permitted until the end of this month!

14.01.2022 We knew it was most likely coming, but we waited, hoped and wished for as long as we could that there was going to be a better ending. As it is more often than not with injuries from vehicles, 'Mumma Bear' had to leave us for Kangaroo Dreamland. Her little son Chase said goodbye and we promised 'Mumma Bear' we would do our absolute best for him and she will be very proud. And over the weekend vehicles again caused havoc with the lives of our wildlife. In Tarthra there were ...three Kangaroos hit all within a small suburban area. In these short narrow streets the normal speed would be 30kph so its hard to imagine how these can all be accidents. We attended Sunday morning to a large male roo who had been hit and then dragged along the road, with the driver failing to stop. He has some serious damage to one paw, and other injuries that will be x-rayed today, but again we will give him a chance. (It wasn't to be. Unfortunately he had a badly broken pelvis. See picture) See more

14.01.2022 Congratulations are in order for our two volunteers Alice and Alexa who have completed their 88 days with us and have now qualified for a second year visa to stay and work in Australia. They have been a great help and picked up a lot of poo, but with their time done and the weather starting to warm up we thought they might be moving on.................but for some reason there just doesn't seem to be any sign of that happening right now? Maybe, just maybe hanging out with the three youngest joeys in care, Georgie, Chase and Felix is just too much fun?

13.01.2022 Another trip to Southern Cross Wildlife at Braidwood tomorrow with Jacky Boy to have his leg fracture reviewed and Ticka to have his cataract surgery follow up. It's been over 7 weeks of restricted movement for Jacky Boy, and we are all hoping it has healed and he'll be ready to go! Cooper, the 'guy with the eye' is looking good and has made the shelter in the enclosure his home. Yellowtail has recovered well from her tumour removal, but still moves quite slowly so we think she may be quite an elderly lady. The young ones all look up to her, but she has the look and snarl of an angry headmistress most of the time. Little Arky the fence hanger unfortunately didn't make it, sadly succumbing to his injuries after just one day in care.

13.01.2022 Terminator was out and about early yesterday and gave our new ARC firefighting trailer the once over before granting his final approval. The trailer is here at the sanctuary and available for use by any carers on the far south coast and we are very grateful to ARC and the late David and Judy Moate who made it possible through a bequest.

11.01.2022 We were going to do a different post as there has been quite a few arrivals, but then we caught 'Rosie Posie' flying around the enclosure on her evening run. Rosie lost her mum to a motor vehicle collision and was rescued by a member of the public who stopped and checked the pouch. She has been with us for 7 weeks, is a joy to care for and is absolutely thriving.

11.01.2022 Thank you for all the attempts, and the correct answer is 14 kangaroos and handsome Jacky Boy is the one on the left with his new sport bandage. He checked out well with Howard and Glenda at Braidwood although he did have some floating bone removed. It's been 8 weeks since it was set and he now moves around quite well. Susan Stewart was first in with the correct answer, and Millie was the14th roo in the picture, although the tip of her tail is only just visible between the pouches, circled in red. Maybe Susan works in forensics? Millies is shown fully in this picture taken from a different angle.

11.01.2022 The stoic Kipa Anne was unstoppable over the last 24 hours attending 6 rescue animal call outs, including this devastatingly sad male kangaroo who was still alive. She was helped to relieve the distress of this guy by Chris and Jackie who found our Jacky Boy, and we appreciated Dr Carl assessing him out of hours. Unfortunately nothing could be done to save him and all we can say is, our poor wildlife!

10.01.2022 Well it is certainly good to have the last two weeks done and dusted as we have had the Government sponsored clean up crew on site with 3 Excavators and a non stop stream of tipper trucks. They started at 7am and the released roo's would just head for the hills, but it created some serious supervision requirements for the younger animals in our care. 'Keeping the noise down' was not something the workers understood in any language, but fortunately they are now done with a significant amount of debris removed. And of course joeys are not able to time when they need help, so a little fellow named Felix joined the crew right in the middle of the clean up. We all pitch in though and that's Caspar in the picture making him feel welcome.

10.01.2022 This very unwell female was phoned in by a really caring family from Mt Darragh. They had been watching her acting abnormally for a few days and while her joeys head appeared frequently, today knew things weren't right. Unfortunately we were too late for her joey, who was severely underweight and looked to have been ejected by mum as she tried to save herself. We will do what we can for this darling girl. Big Al is doing ok and seems to be slightly improved today.

10.01.2022 Our casualty ward is filling fast at the moment but all the patients do have good prospects for a full recovery. Here's the list: Fonzie: If you remember when Fonzie first came in we noticed his crooked stance. He has been moving very slowly lately so we had an x-ray done which revealed the expected dislocated hip with part of his broken femoral head still in the socket. Surgeon Dr Howard Ralph has seen the x ray and believes he can fix the problem. Jacky Boy: Was seen by... Howard at Braidwood on Saturday and his broken leg is healing. New cast on and back in two weeks. Bear: Newly arrived large male who was rescued by Kipa suffering severe bite marks on his tail being attacked by dogs. Daily flush and antibiotics with fingers crossed. Dogs attacks are quite common unfortunately. Ticka: Has had his cataract operation postponed several times but we are hopeful it will be on before the end of August. He is coping well and continues to put on weight. Zelda: Rescued by Kipa and recovering very well after being hit by a motor vehicle and we expect to release her this week. Great to have a result like this. See more

09.01.2022 Because of the possibility of some light rain, the meeting to discuss a new member application was held under a tree this morning. As you can see there was a general lack of interest in proceedings, other than from the prospective member himself standing to the left. It was resolved to put his application on hold until he provides some more details, like where did you come from?

08.01.2022 Our precious wildlife continue to be under enormous pressure in NSW with recent droughts, then fires and continuation of large increases in the amount of land clearing for farming, forestry and development. Since conservation laws were weakened by the Liberal-National Government in 2017, land clearing has increased by over 1,000% and if this upward trajectory continues much of NSW will be left a lifeless dust bowl. This carnage reinforces the need for land to be preserved for wildlife so they can grow, live and thrive without threat or fear. This morning Carly, Luna, Byron and Buddy were doing just that......until Big Billy arrived to break up the hugfest.

07.01.2022 Please release me let me go, for I don't love you anymore........When the rug rats started singing us this Engelbert Humperdinck classic we knew it was time..... I don't think they ever loved us, but after several months in care it was certainly time for them to start a free and safe life on the sanctuary. So For Amy, Figgy and Hope we built a small pre release enclosure over closer to the bush as Swamp Wallabies love the undergrowth. Just two days in the enclosure was enough and although their first steps were tentative, this afternoon they were officially released. Thanks to Linda, Maddie and our vols Alice and Alexa for getting them through and although Swampy's are elusive, we hope to see them out and about at some stage soon.

05.01.2022 Enjoy an insight into the personality of the first ever Eastern Grey kangaroo that we cared for. Angie could sniff out the almonds wherever they were kept. .

04.01.2022 Sunday Quick Quiz How many kangaroos in the picture, and name the individual on the far left? If part of a kangaroo is showing, it counts as one, and to help there are six in pouches. To get this correctly you will need to look very closely. A Cobargo Wildlife T shirt and big bragging rights if anyone does get it correct. Will put the answer and details up Monday afternoon.

04.01.2022 Well what a weekend of weather down Cobargo way. Here at the Sanctuary we recorded 252.6mm of rain in the 24hours to midnight Saturday and Illawambra Creek broke its banks and rose to the highest level we have seen within just a few hours. Wombats were running everywhere after losing their burrows and unfortunately some were lost. Human induced climate change has made it a terrible 12 months for wildlife here. Sunday saw a joint rescue effort with Kipa to bring in a large male roo from Nethercote. Limited movement and drooping ears was the indication things were not right and he was found to have a large maggot infested sore on his back. This may have come after being caught in a fence and its been treated so we will see how he goes. Any thoughts on why the ears droop are welcome.

04.01.2022 If you have followed us since the fire, you may remember when Millie arrived in March with Tilly at 3kg dripping wet and we called her 'Skinny Millie". Well she has now grown up but never roams far and has ended up practising to be a mum. Little Felix loves her and now sees her as the mum he never had, so follows her everywhere. They stayed out together last night, so today it was time to catch up on some sleep.......together.

02.01.2022 As expected the news from the vet visit for handsome 'no name' was no good. Protruding bone, dead tissue and a very cold foot meant the only option would have been amputation of his entire right foot. (His left foot was similar) That was not feasible or fair on the big guy so the decision on his future was made for us. RIP 'no name' On the same visit to Dr Carl at Bermagui, who generously stayed back after hours to see the animals, we had a 7kg joey found hopping up the roa...d on one leg after his mother had been hit by a car. We could see a badly fractured leg (see x ray picture) but it had not broken the skin so there is hope. Thanks to Dr Howard and Glenda at Southern Cross Wildlife for the operation to set his leg, and the little fella now sports a huge splint. Thanks also to Jackie and Chris from Kalaru who bought the little guy to us at Cobargo and hence his name is 'Jacky Boy'. He's been so good to look after although Its going to be a tough six weeks to keep him off his feet, but with the help of our vols Alexa and Alice we are all up for it. See more

02.01.2022 He's not sedated, not stressed and not suffering. After 48 hours in care 'Big Al'(named after Aileen on who's property he was found) is certainly sick but does seem relaxed and content. In the back ground of the photo is Tin Tin and the love birds Gorgi and Chase. Thank you to everyone who messaged in with thoughts on the cause of his droopy ears. We have nothing confirmed at this stage but the big fella has been wormed, treated for mites and also on antibiotics. He's as big as the mountains!

02.01.2022 As we ever so slowly continue to clean up the extensive fire damage at the sanctuary, life is also slowly returning to the surrounds. Routine is becoming apparent with the released roo's usually turning up around 4pm each day for some pellets and almonds. This all goes well until Terminator, the wild wombat, turns up. Why Terminator? Because when he does turn up, quiet feeding for the kangaroos is terminated. End of story. We are forever indebted to all of you who helped us after the devastating fires, without doubt you helped us continue on, so should you ever be down this way over summer we would love to welcome you here to see the released Roos at pellet time. It's a unique experience to be close to wild (sort of) kangaroos and we will do our best to keep Terminator at bay.

01.01.2022 This good looking fellow was caught in a wire fence just south of Bermagui. The parents of the owner were staying on the property and were on the phone in a flash, so with the help of Mike from WRSC, we were able to cut him free and have him vet checked by Carl within a few hours of being caught. Fortunately there was no major damage to his foot and while it was a bit swollen, he was back swooning the girls by early that afternoon.

01.01.2022 While our aim and commitment is to help as many injured wildlife as we can, being busy with callouts for injured wildlife is something we could do without, making the two statements an uneasy contradiction. Between ourselves and friends we work closely with Kipa and Alex, over a dozen kangaroo rescues have been attended in the last ten days. With every call we have hope, but while the outcomes have mostly been disappointing they were probably in line with the averages. Four ...had to be euthanized, two were dead on arrival, one passed on the operating table, three passed away in care, three joeys are now in care and two kangaroos have a chance of recovering. The scene on arrival is normally depressing, but one call in particular attended by Kipa and Alex was particularly distressing. This kangaroo had been hit by car, dragged along the road and was left looking like it been attacked by a lion, yet somehow was still on its feet when they arrived, showing amazing strength and dignity. Posting about death and injury to these beautiful animals isn't easy, but its a big part of what we deal with each week. Stay with us as better news will follow. See more

01.01.2022 He might not be king of his mob any more, but Big Al is certainly king of the enclosure here. He is doing ok and seems happy with his lot, not showing any signs of stress at all. The other enclosure residents and visitors like to hang out and be close to him...but just not too close!