The Sad Tale of Wombat Bindi (with Happy Ending)

 Wombat Bindi was sentenced to death. Not just once, but twice.

The first time was when a car ran her mother down and left the baby wombat for dead in her mother's pouch. That time Bindi was rescued by the people who found her and brought her to Iris and James at Albion Wombat Rescue.

Then Bindi developed severe and debilitating colic. She was sickly and in pain all the time. Nothing helped. 

The vet delivered the second death sentence. Bindi wasn't thriving. She couldn't go on as she was and there was no treatment he could recommend that would help. The most humane solution would be to end her short unhappy life before she suffered any more.

That's when Bindi was rescued a second time. Iris and James have lost animals before and they didn't think they could face the pain again. Besides, they'd fallen under the spell of this small creature and weren't going to lose her without one helluva fight. 

Iris trained as a nurse, and she knows a thing or two about animals too from long years of caring for them. Off she went to the chemist with a recipe for a colic mixture that she thought was worth a try. The pharmacist followed her directions and poured the mixture into a bottle labelled with the wombat's name.

                                     

It took a lot of patience on James and Iris's part, but contrary to all expectations, Bindi's health gradually improved. She began to put on weight slowly. She was still quite fragile and needed a lot of attention, but she was off the death list.

                                         

Bindi is now about a year old, thanks to her wonderful and devoted carers. She's not as independent as they'd like - still a bit of a Mummy's girl - and, though she spends her days outside, she still sleeps indoors in a cot. But she's healthy, with a glossy coat.

She's a good eater, still having one bottle a day and relishing her Weetbix. When she's indoors and she needs to wee, she signals to be picked up and held over the laundry trough.

She enjoys a cuddle.

She loves to throw all the cushions off the couch

 and burrow in.

And she loves the only mum and dad she's ever known.

I want to pay tribute to all wildlife carers, but to Iris and James in particular for their selfless care for the wild inhabitants of our planet, and also for their loving care of me when, like Bindi, I was losing my mother and in need of nurture.

The Story of Rumble and Tumble

The current residents of the Wombat Hilton arrived as a pair about two and a half months ago.

Rumble and Tumble are not brother and sister but they have been reared together since they were rescued in similar situations. Both their mothers were killed by cars.

Apparently wombats raised together like this don't mate with each other but it's apparent that Rumble and Tumble find each other's presence reassuring.

We thought that being together these two would support each other through the move and that's turned out to be true. (In the picture above that's porridge oats on the wombat's nose.) 

Normally we don't take wombats until they are almost ready for release. At that point they're usually big enough and old enough to be self sufficient. We then provide a home for them for about six weeks until they are weaned of their habits of human dependency and appear capable of looking after themselves.

Rumble and Tumble's carer had taken on a lot of animals so we agreed to take these two off her hands early to give her a break.

At first the wombats were timid and watchful. They raced to their burrow as soon as they heard (or smelt) us coming. Over time they acclimatised and they are now brave and curious.

Every day when Farmdoc delivers food he collects their droppings. This really puzzles Rumble and Tumble. All our previous wombats have poohed around the perimeter of the enclosure. This pair always use the kennel. Perhaps they like the privacy.

My guess is that Rumble and Tumble will be released around the end of the year. Then they'll have the run of the property and be able to meet up with the wild population. I wonder what they'll think of the big world out there.

What Wombat Ben Did Next

It's interesting to watch Wombat Ben adjust to his new circumstances and to see his natural instincts come to the fore. While he lived with his previous carers he regarded them as members of his family. Even when they transferred him to an outdoor enclosure he used to perch on a log each morning, waiting for them to arrive with his food. When they turned up he'd follow them around, nipping their legs when he could. When they tried to collect his poo he'd often sit on it to protect it.

Since he's been here at Onemilebridge he's been mostly nocturnal. Certainly, as soon as he's sensed our presence he's hidden in his burrow. This is a step forward as he learns not to bond with humans in his progression towards returning to the wild.

Gradually, though, he's begun coming out early in the day to eat.

And he's been up to some serious renovation. He's pulled a long piece of wood across to the mouth of his burrow and stuck it in place with a mortar of mud.

We think this is to protect the burrow from rain as its entrance had become quite open.

He's also been digging in other places, including under the hollow log.

He's certainly leaving his mark on the Wombat Hilton! It'll never be the same again.

Wombat Ben Settles In

Sleeping by day, emerging late afternoon. 

Serious renovations by night. 

Shy of these new humans.

Not eating much yet, very little poo on show. Early days yet. Just settling in.

Wombat Ben's First Day

Ben was not to be seen this morning, but there was plenty of evidence of his presence:

Some  loose poo, though that's to be expected from the stress of the move.

Some serious renovation of the main burrow. The Poa that was there yesterday looks like it's been demolished. And the hay has disappeared too.

Some evidence of digging beneath the hollow log.

This is a huge move for Ben, away from what is probably the only home he can remember, but so far it looks like he's about on track. We left some food in the container in the kennel and we'll return periodically to check if he's eaten it. Normally we'd remove his poo every morning, but for the moment we'll leave it where it is so he can begin to feel at home.

It's nice to have a wombat back in the Wombat Hilton. I know it's stressful for Ben right now but I'm sure in a couple of days he'll be settled in and ready to begin his transition back into the wild where he belongs.

Hello Wombat Ben

This morning Wombat Ben arrived at Onemilebridge. His carers, Iris and James, brought him and transferred him into the pen that we call the Wombat Hilton where he will stay for about a month or six weeks.

I wrote about Ben first a year ago, when we visited him at home with Iris and James. At that time he was only about eight months old and still quite a baby. He lived inside their house, was bottle fed and slept in a sleeping bag.

We visited Ben again last December. He was much bigger then and had moved into his own outdoor pen. He was probably large enough to come to us already but he still had some psychological issues to work out, and it was felt best to delay release until he was ready. 

Today was that day. Yay!!

Ben was brought in a carrier and carried into the pen. Iris walked around to give him plenty of familiar smells to make him feel a little at home, and put straw around in various places. James decanted him at the mouth of a burrow that earlier wombats had dug and renovated.

When Ben was an infant his mother was killed by a car on the West Coast Cradle Mountain Road. He was found and placed with a carer. When he proved difficult to care for he was passed on to Iris and James who have had years of experience with caring for orphaned animals.

The Wombat Hilton contains a hollow log, a kennel, a corrugated iron shelter with a food bowl, and a water container. Within a minute, Ben was out and about inspecting this new place, smelling all the funny smells and trying to work out the lay of the land.

He found the water container and had himself a big drink, still unsure but beginning already to settle.

Ben comes to us with a printed history and a list of instructions.

Diet: horse mix, rolled oats, grass and hay. (prefers horse mix to oats.)

Comments: Don’t think he will want to stay very long. He is chomping at the bit to be out in the bush.

Appetite: Very good, eats a lot, prefers to be fed during the day before the possums are about.

Behaviour: Gets very agro and agitated very easily, has lots of jaw judders and lip smacks to let you know he is not happy. Always wear gumboots as he likes to zap you from behind.

Very lovable but DO NOT TRUST HIM!

Uh oh, sounds quite the handful. But we're excited to have a new occupant for the Wombat Hilton and look forward to caring for him until he's ready to be out in the wild, meeting all the other wombats that have made their home here at Onemilebridge.

Wombat Bonney Again

Bonney may be our first release failure.

She seemed to be settling in. Her droppings were becoming firm and she would come to eat while Farmdoc was in her enclosure, though she stayed well away from him. All looked normal though she did seem to have lost weight.

Then yesterday morning Farmdoc noticed the fur on all of Bonney's legs had come off. We couldn't tell from a distance what exactly was going on and there didn't seem to be any sores, but the telephone consensus was that it was probably caused by stress.

We phoned her carers and they came this morning to pick her up. They'll bathe her, examine her legs to see if she needs any treatment, and keep her while she settles down again.

All this must have been very stressful and upsetting for Bonney. I hope now she can regain some confidence and health, and perhaps in a few weeks she'll be ready to try again. Maybe when she's a little older she'll be more eager to leave home and face the world.

Meanwhile we're sorry to see her go, and we wish her well.

Welcome Wombat Bonney

This morning Bonney arrived for her stay in the Wombat Hilton. She is the thirteenth wombat and ninth female to stay in our pen while being prepared for release on our land.

Arrival of a new wombat is always a poignant moment. It's hard for the carers to farewell an animal they have lovingly reared from infancy and whom they have come to know well. When they go home they will be surrounded by reminders of the animal who has shared their home, and whom they will never see again.


Like all the wombats that are brought to Onemilebridge for release, Bonney was rescued after the death of her mother and raised by human carers who bottle fed, bathed and nurtured her.

These carers were available day and night to ensure her survival, and the bond between wombat and foster parent is very strong. Bonney has clearly been well loved and cared for. Wombats raised with kindness by humans repay the affection.

When we put Bonney into the pen that will be her temporary home (otherwise known as the Wombat Hilton) she immediately set off to explore. She ran down the two burrows that her predecessors have dug, she jogged in and out of the various shelters, and she sniffed at the pyjamas that accompanied her and that are now in the kennel in the pen to provide a familiar scent and reminder of home. She stopped briefly at the bowl of oats we put out for her but she was too excited to eat any.

We as releasers have a specific task. We have to undo some of the human-dependent habits the wombats have developed and prepare them for life in the wild.

As long as Bonney remains in the pen we won't interact directly with her at all, though we will observe her closely, feed and water her daily, and collect her droppings. In the beginning we expect her droppings to be loose because she will be stressed by this separation from what she regards as her home, but after a few days they should begin to be solid again.

When Bonney approaches for a cuddle we will ignore her. She will learn not to expect companionship from humans. We will resist the temptation to enjoy her company ourselves.

It seems apparent that Bonney is a naturally curious and resilient animal. She has already begun to dig and explore. We hope that in a few weeks we will unlatch the hatch in the pen's door and that then Bonney will take her place amongst the wild wombats, hopefully mating and raising a new generation of wombats in this area.

There is already another female wombat on the waiting list for the Wombat Hilton.

Gate crashers

On our writing weekend there were two uninvited guests. They hung about in the copse of gum trees between us and the beach, gorging and pissing. Totally uncivilised.

But very welcome.