Sydney Wildlife: Wombat Wanda’s amazing recovery with help from new best friend Ben
Wanda was just a tiny joey when found close to death wandering along a road. With plenty of love and a new best friend called Ben, she’s about to embark on her next adventure.
Manly
Don't miss out on the headlines from Manly. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Wanda was just a tiny wombat joey when she was found wandering alone along a NSW south coast road with burnt forests either side.
She was suffering from smoke inhalation, her eyes were ulcerated from the ash and she was close to death.
The little orphan wombat was brought back to the northern beaches in Sydney Wildlife’s new mobile rescue van in February and cared for by volunteer Tracey Reid, 47, at her Belrose home.
Now she’s getting used to life in the wild at Waratah Park in Duffy’s Forest with her best buddy and fellow wombat Ben, who was also rescued from the south coast.
Ms Reid looked after the pair for three and a half months bottle feeding them five times a day and then as she was weaning them picking masses of grass for them, which is their main source of food.
Ben is now a very healthy eight and a half kilos, while Wanda is six and a half kilos.
The two wombats have developed a close bond and get very upset if they’re separated.
“They heavily rely on each and they get stressed when they can’t see each other and start hiccuping,” Ms Reid said.
“That’s what wombats do when they’re stressed, hiccup.”
The pair have chosen to share a burrow in the park and will soon be taken back to Wandandian on the south coast to be released.
“They are just gorgeous,” Ms Reid said.
“Wanda is a snuggler and gets jealous if Ben is having his ears or belly rubbed and will climb up onto my lap and get in between us.
“Ben is a typical male wombat.
“He’s a bulldozer, he puts his head down and pushes through everything.”
She said she had been up to Waratah Park to check on her wombats and used a camera to see into their burrow.
“Some wombats are solitary but others live in groups,” she said.
“These two seem to want to be together at the moment.
“We will release them together and see what happens.”
Ms Reid, who cares for an array of injured wildlife, is currently looking after some ringtail possums.
Last week she released four rescued lorikeets she had helped.
She said two reappeared on Monday and brought with them 10 friends.
“Lorikeets are so funny. They come back for a few weeks after they’re released and they also tell their mates where they can get a free feed, so you get a gang of them,” she said.
To support Sydney Wildlife, go to sydneywildlife.org.au.
