By Violet Li
A wildlife rescue and rehabilitation shelter in Tooradin has been severely damaged by a 25-metre fallen gum tree following on from the recent wild winds.
Nigel Williamson, an animal rescuer from Warriors 4 Wildlife and a friend of the shelter owners, called for financial help and support from the public to rebuild all the aviaries in the Sleepy Hollow Wildlife Shelter in Tooradin.
He said about 80 per cent of the shelter had been destroyed, which led to about $20,000 worth of damage.
“Rob and Pam [shelter owners] have been rehabilitating wildlife for 55 years. They’ve always had a love and a passion for native wildlife, and they’ve never ever reached out to the public for money,” he said.
“They’re very proud people. They don’t ask for help.
“They’ve always done it on their own. They’ve been quiet achievers, but it’s time that we came and supported them now.”
Nigel said at this stage, SES could not do anything officially because the fallen tree was on private property and didn’t damage any house.
“They’ve got a lot of trees down at the moment, obviously, with the wind that we’ve had,” he said.
“And they’ve earmarked this one to be done as a training course for their members to become certified in using chainsaws.
“We’re not sure exactly when they’re going to come out.”
Shelter owner Rob Cale said the tree, unfortunately, totally squashed a brand-new aviary they had just custom-built for sugar gliders and bandicoots and a shed for storing equipment.
“I’ll just continue with the wood that I can do,” he said.
“I had to leave the branch because all the weight from the trunk was on top of the branch, so as soon as you cut that, it’s all going to collapse even more.
“There were no animals in the cages at the time it happened, which is a miracle in itself.”
He noted that the tree was planted by his wife and co-owner of the shelter Pam around 1992. Now they would have to cut it up and use it for fire afterwards.
Rob also said they were initially against the idea of asking for help, but he later accepted there were such times in life.
The couple started wildlife rehabilitation a long time ago.
“Pam started over 55 years ago and then she was living in like a suburban area and just, helping possums in that area,” Rob recalled.
“And she moved to a rural area and was on a main highway and every day she’d go out and look for and there were possums, wombats, wallabies hit on the road.
“She just started to look after the small animals that survived the car accidents basically.
“Then the industry was formed and then wildlife shelters were an official thing and we’ve been going on ever since.
The shelter rehabilitates over 2000 animals annually in the past but has slowed down nowadays due to personal conditions.
For donations, visit gofundme.com/f/the-sleepy-hollow-wildlife-shelter
