Native Animal Network

1. STOP IN A SAFE PLACE
   Take care not to endanger yourself or others by stopping your car in a dangerous location.
2. APPROACH WITH CAUTION
   Approach any wild animal with care. Kangaroos particularly, are capable of lashing out with their powerful back legs, even if severely injured. Most animals are able to inflict nasty bites and scratches especially when frightened and in pain.
3. IF THE ANIMAL IS DEAD
   Check the underbelly for a pouch. Animals such as kangaroos, possums and wombats carry their young in a pouch. A bulge or movement inside a pouch may indicate live young. Gently remove the joey, taking care not to further injure the animal. An animal that has been dead for several hours may still have live young in its pouch.
4. KEEP THE ANIMAL WARM
   A cold animal which is sick, injured or orphaned will stay cold unless it is heated by some external heat source. Wrapping the animal in a towel or jumper alone will not make it warm.  Small animals can be put under the front of a person's jumper. This is a safe, reliable heat source. Alternative emergency heat sources are a hot water bottle or other plastic container, filled with warm water or an electric blanket on low or mid setting with the animal wrapped in a towel. The animal must not be placed directly onto the heat source. Take care not to heat the animal too quickly and avoid extreme fluctuations in temperature. Aim for a constant temperature of 30 - 32 degrees Celsius.
5. KEEP THE ANIMAL QUIET
   Native animals are easily stressed and this alone may be enough to kill the animal. Keep it as quiet as possible away from loud noises and do not allow children to play with it. A joey requires the same care as a premature human baby.
6. SEEK IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE
   An animal will suffer in much the same way as a human. Seek immediate veterinary attention if the animal is injured and even if you wish to care for the animal yourself, seek advice on care and hand-rearing of orphans.

For short-term emergency diets click here.