NQ Wildlife Care in Townsville, Queensland | Non-profit organisation

NQ Wildlife Care

Locality: Townsville, Queensland

Phone: +61 414 717 374

Address: 25 Aitken Street 4814 Townsville, QLD, Australia

Website: http://www.nqwildlife.org.au

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• Non-profit organisation
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• Community organisation

22.01.2022 HELP FIND THIS HAPPY BUNNY A HOME As you have probably figured out from the photos, Bunny isn't actually a bunny... But a Spectacled Hare Wallaby. This sweet and smiley wallaby came into care after being handed into the Charters Towers Veterinary Clinic. A member of the public had found Bunny as an orphan and tried to raise her themselves before realising that you really can't raise a animal like this without the proper care and training. Bunny was transported to Townsvi...lle Vet Clinic at a tiny 325grams before she was handed onto one of our incredibly talented macrapod coordinators, Margaret Neihoff. Bunny flourished in Margarets care and is now 2.4 kilos so the time has come for her to leave. Now here comes the trouble... Because Spectacled hare wallabies are a nocturnal animal that is very rarely seen, we are on the hunt for an appropriate release site for her to go to. We are hoping to find a nice area to soft release Bunny that has a good population of her own kind. We fear we may be unable to find an appropriate release site for Bunny in the wild so we have begun taking other measures as well. We have been in contact with the Australian Wildlife Conservancy about potentically placing Bunny in a sanctuary so that she will be able to live her life safe from predators and so more can be learnt about this elusive species. If you know anyone that may be able to help find this sweet girl a home, please share her story or reach out to us. Let's get Bunny back into the wild Photo credit: Kat Cook #bunny #wallaby #rescue #rescuerehabilitaterelease #nqwildlifecare #animal #orphan

20.01.2022 Echidnas are on the moveee During the winter months you may be lucky enough to spot one of these incredible creatures. It's echidna breeding season which means they are wandering about looking for a mate! If you spot an echidna please leave it be unless it is in immediate danger. Female echidnas carry their young in a fold of skin on their belly until they start growing spikes, then the young are left in a nearby burrow. Moving an echidna too far from it's burrow can mean... a puggle (which is what young echidnas are called) may be left to starve. Last week a member of the public; Cecily, called up asking for advice about an echidna that was in her yard. Janine Moore who was on our rescue phone that day, advised Cecily to tie her dogs up and allow the echidna to move along on its own- which it did! The dogs avoided sustaining injuries from the spikey creature and the echidna was able to wander away unharmed. If in doubt, call NQ Wildlife care for help or advice Photo credit: Cecily #nqwildlifecare #rescuerehabilitaterelease #echidna #nature #rescue #breedingseason

19.01.2022 Meet Billie and Cindy One of our rescuers; Nicole Thompson responded to a call for a possum as a member of the public was concerned. On inspection it became clear that her wounds were a result of a severe staph infection. Burdened by trying to raise her baby girl she was unable to get better. A possums pouch should be tight and fluffy, yet Big Mummas was plagued with staph and not at all a healthy place for her Joey to reside. Little Cindy was only 120g when she was separat...ed from her mum, but by doing so, they were each able to thrive. Billie was given a course of antibiotics and was washed down once a day to remove the dead skin and fur so she could begin to heal. Within 10 days she was able to be released while little Cindy is still in care. Cindy will be self-sufficient enough to be released back into the wild soon, maybe one day they'll see eachother again #rescuerehabilitaterelease #nqwildlifecare #rescue #possum #commonbrushtail #sweet #orphan

19.01.2022 DONATIONS OF FISH NEEDED! Meet Miss Peggy the sweet little Pelican that we currently have in care Last week a member of the public dropped Peggy to the Wulguru vets when they found her unable to fly. Upon assesment the vet team discovered that Peggy was in good condition but was too young to be all on her own. ... One of our rescuers, Tara Hoffman picked up Peggy and transported her to our Bird Coordinators Helen and Chris Bell. Because of Peggy's age she is expected to be in care for quite a while. Peggy is consuming a kilo of fish every day so we thought we would reach out to the public for assistance. We are hoping for fish donations, either Mullet or Pilchard roughly 15-20cm's long. Any donation big or small, would be greatly appreciated. If you would like to donate and help Miss Peggy, please contact Helen Bell on 0413696037. Photo credit: Kat Cook

18.01.2022 Sometimes we all need a little bit of Hope Meet Hope the Agile Wallaby! A few months ago we had a call from Mark Jacobsen to our wildlife phone. Mark was riding his bike in Douglas when he saw a deceased wallaby on the side of the road. After passing the wallaby he had a gut feeling that he needed to turn around. When he went back, Hope was laying next to her mother. Claudia McGrath was on our phone that day and met a member of the public who had stopped to help Mark. Clau...dia then transported Hope to Patrick Street Vets and became Hopes first carer. Hope had recieved some of the impact from a car hitting her Mum. Her right leg and arm werent working properly and they feared her eye may have been damaged. After months of physio and extra special care she has already dramatically improved. Hope is now in care with one of our macrapod carers, Janine Moore. This amazing little girl is going to be in care for a while longer as she continues to grow and improve. Mark has even been given the opportunity to visit Hope and her pals. This little fighter has exceeded expectations and will be able to released back into the wild in the coming months Photo credit: Janine Moore

18.01.2022 Meet Scott Wheeler and Nola Early this morning we recieved a call from a truck driver that was travelling from Charters Towers through to Townsville. Scott spotted this little girl on the road and pulled over to help. Once he got to her he saw she had some bleeding from the nose, so he wrapped her in a work jacket and popped her in the truck. One of our rescuers, Kat Cook, met Scott in Wulguru and transported Nola to the Western Suburbs vet clinic for immediate care. It a...ppears Nola has had a run in with a car, she has managed to come out with no fractures but has damage to her lungs. Nola has since been transported to the Koala hospital on Magnetic island for observation and care. Our group is crossing our fingers and toes for Nola, hopefully she can pull through this! We want to say a big thank you to Scott Wheeler who came to her aid and has given Nola a second chance

18.01.2022 A life taken too soon On Saturday we recieved a call from a member of the public who had found an Australian Raven that was unable to fly in Kelso. He managed to catch the injured raven and wrapped it in a towel until one of our rescuers, Kat Cook was able to get there. The raven had a very damaged wing so he was given food, water, warmth and pain medication until he was able to go into the vets for an xray. Westerb Suburbs Veterinary Clinic gave the raven an xray, only t...o find a small bullet imbedded in its wing. This poor animal was shot with what appears to have been an air riffle. Unfortunately it's injuries were too severe and it has now been humanely euthanased. Australian ravens are a native Australian bird and are protected under state legislation. It is an offence to intentionally harm them and can land a hefty fine. If you know anyone who is intentionally harming our native wildlife, please report them to the authorities. Save our wildlife #rescue #raven #shot #bullet #report #wildlife #australia

17.01.2022 Billy Bob the Blue tongue lizard Several weeks ago we had a call come through from a man that had found a blue tongue lizard on the side of the road near Balgal beach. He thought the blue tongue had been struck by a car as he had what appeared to be a graze on his head. Our reptile coordinator Trish Prendergast, who is also an experienced vet nurse, took Billy Bob in and examined him. Due to his injuries, it was found that Billy Bob was likely bitten by a dog which is sad...ly a common occurence for our wildlife. Billy Bob had a small puncture above his left eye, an eye injury and a broken mandibular symphysis. The mandibular symphysis is a small bone that connects the bottom of a jaw together. Due to this being an incredibly small and fragile bone that can be easily rebroken while healing, Trish managed to come up with a crafty solution. A paperclip was glued to Billy Bob's bottom jaw and reinforced with some surgical tape to avoid any movement. This very lucky guy is improving and if there are no complications, he will hopefully only be in care for 8 weeks in total! What a lucky lizard Photo Credit Kat Cook #nqwildlifecare #snakenurse #bluetongue #lizard #rescue #rescuerehabilitaterelease #dogattack #brokenjaw #saveourwildlife

15.01.2022 Sadly a lot of people are unaware of the importance of our Flying fox populations! They're adorable, fluffy and do an amazing job at helping our ecosystem #rescuerehabilitaterelease #rescue #nqwildlifecare #flyingfox #bats

15.01.2022 One of these things is not like the other... This little curlew chick found a great hiding spot underneath some ducklings, I wonder if he fooled his friend Photo credit: Kat Cook ... #nqwildlife #curlew #rescuerehabilitateandrelease #duckling #native #australian #hiding

14.01.2022 Meet Plucky For those of you that have never had the pleasure of seeing one of these beautiful and unique animals, Plucky is a Puggle. Puggle is the term used for a baby echidna! Plucky has come from the Charters Towers region after being found in a dog crate. Unfortunately his roommates tried to have a little taste and Plucky was found with multiple puncture wounds, some quite severe. ... Plucky was transported to the Townsville Vet Clinic where he was provided with an assesment and care before being handed over to our echidna coordinator, Margaret Neihoff. Plucky has slowly started to feed but now has the battle of fighting infection and trying to heal. Plucky is only very young so his journey in care with us will be a long one. There are no guarantee's for poor little Plucky, but he's in the best hands and we are hoping he'll make a recovery Video Credit: Kat Cook #nqwildlifecare #rescuerehabilitaterelease #puggle #echidna #rescue #australiannative #saveourwildlife

13.01.2022 REMEMBER TO CHECK UNDER THE HOOD! On Wednesday the 2nd of September a member of the public was driving just north of Ingham in the early morning when he accidently hit a kookaburra. The driver pulled over and looked everywhere but couldn't find the kookaburra and assumed it must have flown away. He then continued on his journey, driving all the way to Cairns before coming back to Townsville on Friday.... Saturday morning this man heard a "flapping" noise coming from his car, he opened up the bonnet of his rav and discovered the kookaburra from days before! Obviously alarmed and unsure what to do, he reached out to us! Our rescue coordinator, Becky Crook went around to help pull the bumper off his car and get the little boy out. The kookaburra who has now been named Rav, looked to not have a single feather out of place!! Rav was taken into care for some rest and to be assesed incase of underlying injuries. Stories such as these are great reminders to make sure you stop and look if you believe you may have hitten wildlife. Photo credit: Kat Cook #rescue #rescuerehabilitaterelease #kookaburra #hood #wildlife #native

13.01.2022 Our introduction to wildlife course is completely booked out! We are sorry to those of you that wanted to attend but unfortunately missed out. The next block of training courses are starting on November 7th, so keep an eye out

13.01.2022 Meet Ringo the Echidna Another amazing release by one of our dedicated carers. Well done Margaret Neihoff! NQ Wildlife care is forever thankful for your knowledge and your countless years of experience

12.01.2022 ROADSIDE POUCH CHECK! If you see a recently deceased animal on the roadside, it's always a good idea to check to see if the animal has a joey (if it is safe to do so). Wallabies, Kangaroo's and Possum joeys can survive in their mothers pouch for days after their Mothers have died, which is a slow and horrible death for them to endure. Some people don't know this, but when joeys are as small as the photos shown are, their mouth is actually fused to their mothers teat. If yo...u have to remove a joey from its mother, please never pull it from the teat. At this level of development we have to snip the teat from the Mother (with as much length as possible) and secure the end with a safety pin so the joey doesnt suck it in. It seems a bit icky, but it saves potentially causing irreversable damage to the joeys mouth. Once you've collected the joey from the pouch you need to keep them warm and call us as soon as possible to give them the best chance possible. If in doubt, call NQ Wildlife Care Photo credit: Kat Cook (Wallaby) Photo credit: Georgia Iddon (Possum) #nqwildlifecare #wallaby #possum #kangaroo #roadside #pouch #rescue #rescuerehabilitaterelease

12.01.2022 WHY DID THE TURTLE CROSS THE ROAD? Well... to get to the other side! Now they safely can, thanks to Phillip England ... In recent months we have recieved many calls through our wildlife phone about turtles crossing the road from the Borrow pits to the Ross River. Many turtles have been hit by cars while crossing the road as well as other wildlife that have been searching for a larger water source. Phillip England our turtle coordinator, has been to the borrow pits countless times trying to help our little reptillian creatures safely cross this dangerous stretch of road. He's also been caring for some of the turtles that have been hit by cars and have sustained injuries, mostly cracked shells. On the 28th of July, Phillip took a stand for the turtles and emailed our deputy mayor Mark Molachino about the issue and his voice was heard! Mark Molachino stated that he had noticed the growing number of dead animals in that area over recent months. Last week two signs were put up near the Borrow pits to alert drivers of the high volume of turtles and other animals that cross in this area. The Borrow pits are considered to be a wildlife watching attraction in Townsville, hopefully with these new signs it can continue to be! Photo credit: Kat Cook Pictured: Phillip England #turtle #wildlife #crossing #rescue #road #sign #savetheturtles #slowdown

10.01.2022 Our first Introduction to wildlife care workshop is on the 15th of August! Spots are limited due to current restrictions, so secure your booking today! https://nqwildlife.org.au/get-involved/training-calendar/

08.01.2022 RAT BAIT OOH HA HA! Meet Dory the common brushtail possum who is currently just one of many rat bait victims that are currently in care with NQ Wildlife. Dory came into care on the 27th of August after a member of the public took a very unwell possum to Ross Island vet. The amazing team at the vets were able to tell from the Mother that she was dying from poisoning, they were unable to save the Mother, but Dory had a chance... Antonio Peckham collected Dory from the vet an...d took her to one of our possum coordinators, Georgia Iddon. Dory is not out of the woods yet but has made leaps and bounds. She will remain in care with Georgia for several months until she is an appropriate age and size to be released. Rat bait causes a lot of problems for our native wildlife. Our native brushtail possums will ingest rat poison and fall extremely ill, if they arent treated in time they will die a slow and excruciating death. Rat bait can also be extremely dangerous for our local bird wildlife. A lot of our native birds and birds of prey will eat rats, mice and even possums that have ingested the poison, causing them to then also suffer the horrific effects of these toxins. The medication to help save these critters is expensive and the cost lands on our volunteers. There are no guarantee's when it comes to the recovery of an animal effected by these horrible poisons, it's often a very difficult and slow process to get these animals back to health. If you have an issue with rodents, please speak to pest control about using other alternatives that wont put our native animals at risk. Think of Dory's sweet face before you use harmful toxins in and around your home- Save our wildlife! Photo credit: Kat Cook #ratbait #poison #brushtailpossum #wildlife #nqwildlifecare #rescuerehabilitaterelease #dory #orphan

07.01.2022 Jasmine's Story Written by Jasmine's very dedicated carer- Suzanne Hall. Baby Jasmine came into care on the 9th May this year. Her mum was killed on the road and she was rescued by one of our carers Janine Moore and her daughter Chloe. She was an 'itty bitty', 'teenie weenie', baby common brush tailed possum and she weighed only 31g.... The cut off point for young possums is 30g, so she was considered only a borderline viable size. She was uninjured, still warm, and strong, so it was decided to give her a go to see if she could survive. She was lovingly named 'Jasmine', by Janine's daughter Chloe. Janine did a great job in her initial rescue - keeping her warm and stable, and cutting off her mum's teat and pinning it to her pouch so that she could still suckle the teat until she decided to release it herself. When I picked her up she was sooooo.... small. Smaller than my thumb. Her eyes and ears were still fused, and her mouth was partially fused. But she was strong, she was a fighter and she wanted to live. She suckled right from the start, despite the fact that only the very tip of the teat could fit into her mouth. To try to avert an upset tummy I decided to feed her small amounts often, so we settled into a routine of feeds every 2 hrs, day and night. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep over the next month, but it was worth it. Over the past few months we have had our ups and downs, but generally speaking things have gone well, and she has developed well beyond our expectations. Jasmine now weighs 800grams and she will be going to pre release next week! She is almost ready to go out into the world and when she is released, she will take a piece of my heart with her. Photo Credit: Janine Moore and Suzanne Hall #nqwildlifecare #rescuerehabilitaterelease #possum #rescue #orphan #heartwarming #australia #wildlife

06.01.2022 THANK YOU EVERYONE! We want to thank everyone for their help with getting fish donations for Peggy the Pelican! Whether you donated fish, shared our post or tagged your friends you helped make a difference! We recieved over 90 kilos of fish to feed Peggy, just a few days before another Pelican arrived in care- Pete. Pete was rescued from a backyard in Oonomba by one of our rescuers- Antonio Peckham. Pete was in care with Peggy being looked after our wonderful bird coordinato...rs- Helen and Chris Bell. Pete was another young Pelican that needed a helping hand, but as he was slightly older than Peggy, he was able to be released yesterday! He was a little hesitant but it was not long before he was soaring through the sky looking down below at his beautiful new home. Peggy came along for the ride and had a sneak peak at what will become her new home soon enough So again, thank you from all of us here at NQ Wildlife. Photo credit: Kat Cook #nqwildlifecare #rescuerehabilitaterelease #rescue #pelican #fly #happyending

06.01.2022 Just taking a dip in the shark tank Last month we recieved a rather interesting call.. An adult little red flying fox was spotted clinging to a bracket above one of the aquariums at Reef HQ. One of our Flying Fox coordinators, Cate Murphy, offered to help out on this very interesting rescue.. ... Cate had to go upstairs and climb out an exit door located near the top of the open tank. This Flying fox was half way along a small ledge against a row of sighting windows. She walked sideways along the small ledge to make her way closer to the Flying fox with only a hand rope attached to a sliding wire. Just as Cate reached the Flying fox, he flew off happily, not to be seen again! It appears this mischevious little guy may have taken an accidental dip with the sharks and was just hanging in the sun trying to dry off. As rescuers we are constantly faced with new and interesting challenges.. Luckily we have a brilliant team who are willing to go to above and beyond to help our native wildlife Photo Credit: Cate Murphy #nqwildlifecare #rescuerehabilitaterelease #rescue #flyingfox #takingadip #reefhq

05.01.2022 Did you know that you can create a 'fake nest' for fallen baby birds? Adam is a member of the public who found this little guy fallen from a tree in his front yard. Mum and dad were spotted flying around so when one of our wildlife carers- Lisa attended the scene, she suggested a fake nest to be constructed. After 5 quick minutes with the help of Adam, a 'fake nest was created from card board with holes punched at the bottom (for drainage). Adams little helpers climbed the ...tree and secured the 'fake nest' in a high branch with zip ties. Within seconds we observed mum and dad attending baby. It was a very happy ending. Wherever possible wildlife carers will always find the best available option for our wildlife. In this case a family was reunited and an additional bird did not have to come into care Photo credit- Lisa Bartlett #nqwildlife #rescuerehabilitaterelease #babybirds #reunitedanditfeelssogood #nature #happyending

03.01.2022 North Queensland Wildlife Care is down at Sherriff park until 11am this morning for the Angel Paws pledge walk! Come down and say hi to some of our lovely members!

02.01.2022 PEGGY HAS BEEN RELEASED! Just one week after her buddy Pete was released, it was time for Peggy to set off into the big wide world. After her Dad (career Chris Bell) gave her a lift and a little pep talk, she followed him into the water. Chris gave her one final pat so she knew she was safe and she floated out into the water to the other pelicans before taking flight to the sky. It was a beautiful release and all of our members that were involved definitely shed a tear or... two. We couldn't have asked for a better release for Peggy and we are confident she will live out a long and happy life. All of the wonderful donations that her carers Chris and Helen Bell recieved is now stored for safe keeping until the next sea bird comes into our care. All of us at NQ Wildlife will miss our darling Peggy, she had many visitors and recieved so much love while she was in care. If you happen to be walking by the dam at Ross River, keep an eye out for Peggy Photo Credit: Kat Cook #nqwildlife #rescuerehabilitaterelease #pelican #australia #release #sealife #carer

02.01.2022 We love a good release video! "Both Helen and Precious were victims of THE SAME barbed wire that was located next to some flowering Corymbia and Melalucas on a private property in Ingham. Sadly we have had many little Red Flying-foxes become victims of this particular barbed wire in the last couple weeks while the nearby trees were flowering. To my knowledge we have had 6 come into care and we have found at least 10 deceased. Due to the colony being "moved on" from the gar...dens in Ingham we don't actually be know where the colony is to release them back in Ingham. Even the local rangers have no idea where the little red colony is now so we released here at Dan Gleeson with the local colony. Helen was treated with aspirin to stop the wing dieing and to prevent blood clots. Vitamin E was also applied to prevent keloid scars. Precious had her foot de-gloved and some of the wing membrane on the trailing edge of her leg damaged. She could still fly when she came into care but was not able to be released until all her injuries had healed to ensure she could live a long and happy life. " Good luck little batties, we have our fingers and toes crossed for you! Written by Emma Goodwill. Video credit: Sandro Simioni #nqwildlifecare #flyingfox #rescuerehabilitaterelease #release #australiannative #notreenome

02.01.2022 Do you remember Nola? Nola was found almost two weeks ago on the side of the road, bleeding from the nose and suffering damage to her lungs after being struck by a car. Nola has been in care at the Koala hospital on Magnetic Island and this morning she was released back into her habitat on the outskirts of Townsville. ... We would like to thank everyone for their involvement and help with Nola's rehabilitation and release. *Scott Wheeler who stopped in his truck and picked Nola up from the side of the road. *Kat Cook who collected Nola from Wulguru, contacted the Koala hospital and transported her to the vet. *Western Suburbs Vet clinic for providing initial vet care. *The Magnetic Island Koala Hospital for caring for Nola during her rehabilitation. *Tony Gordon for coming along to her release to ensure she was returned to a safe enviroment. Stay safe Nola Photo/video credit: Kat Cook *Additional photos in comments

02.01.2022 It’s amazing what you can find in a garbage bin! This gorgeous little girl needed a bit of help to escape this bin! Love animals? Love wildlife? Have you ever thought about becoming a WILDLIFE RESCUER? We need you! Come and learn some tricks of the trade to help us help them. You can make a real difference and help save native animals in Townsville. North Queensland Wildlife Care are looking for compassionate and dedicated people to join our rescue team. ... Attend our Wildlife Rescue Training to find out more. When: 1pm to 5pm Sunday 30th of August. Where: 25 Aitken Street Aitkenvale Cost: $5 for members or $10 for non members. Your contribution to our native wildlife: Priceless RSVP: Rebecca Crook Rescue Coordinator by commenting on this post, by email [email protected] or simply send a pm to Becky Crook.