Lionel Watson from LnLz Wildlife Care and Rescue relocating a fire-displaced wild wombat from Ruffy.
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While it was devastating to witness the losses from the Longwood bushfire, two local wildlife carers said “rewarding doesn’t even come close” when reflecting on their time on the firefront.
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Wildlife caring all started a decade ago as “karma” for Leoni and Lionel Watson.
“It was New Year’s night in 2016 when my husband and his brother were driving and unfortunately, he hit a wombat,” Ms Watson said.
“He dodged five roos and two wombats, but one wombat zigged when it should have zagged.
“It turned out to be a mum and she had a baby – a little boy. We tried to get him into another carer, but all of the carers around were busy.”
From there, the duo turned their retirement into a new passion, becoming LnLz Wildlife Care and Rescue and raising the baby wombat, who they named Ozzy, before releasing him into the wild.
When the January fire broke out, the response from the carers was instantaneous.
Within the first few days, LnLz became a pivotal part of the local wildlife care response, working hours on end at a Strath Creek hub dedicated to supporting animals and carers across the region.
“The fire hub started on that horrendous day with extreme conditions, and we weren’t affected at the time, but we were just feeling ridiculously helpless,” Ms Watson said.
“We were focused on the wildlife because we know what happens to wildlife during natural disasters.”
From January until the end of April, the hub collected and distributed donations to support the recovery of local wildlife.
Thanks to the hard work of LnLz and Jodie Blackney of Bushfire Wildlife Rescue and Support, along with a long list of donators and volunteers, animals across the region saw relief from the tragic blaze.
Much of the effort involved collaboration with other carers and organisations.
Leoni and Lionel Watson at the fire hub in Strath Creek.
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“We were getting wildlife coming in, some burn victims – some we could deal with, others we couldn’t, and those ones got passed on,” Ms Watson said.
“There were a lot of trips backwards and forwards to vets and to properties and to carers.
“I really wish we kept a log of the amount of kilometres that we did, but I know one week we clocked up just under 1500 kilometres in five days.”
Animals who didn’t suffer with burns faced impacts associated with significant smoke inhalation, or were injured from the spraying of water or retardant lines.
Ms Watson said, while there were no exact figures, a considerable number of wildlife was lost.
“If I had to estimate at our wildlife loss, and I’m only talking about the Longwood fires, I would say that fire cost us about 50 per cent, if not more, of the wildlife population that was there,” she said.
She said, outside of natural disaster, the loss of wildlife across the country was devastating to think about.
“What’s happening nationwide is beyond heartbreaking,” she said.
“I always believed Australia to be the lucky country, as in we had an abundance of native wildlife and native flora, we truly were the lucky country.
“We were once a lucky country and if we don’t start doing anything about (wildlife numbers) very, very soon, if we don’t start to pay attention, then we are leaving nothing for the future generations, and it’s heartbreaking.”
Looking back on their efforts, Mr and Ms Watson agree that, although it was a taxing time, their work was entirely fulfilling.
“It was exhausting, but rewarding doesn’t even come close,” Ms Watson said.
“We met some incredible people and we counted our blessings every day, and still do.”
If you need assistance with injured wildlife in the local area, contact Ms Watson on 0407 063 331 or Mr Watson on 0400 740 650.
LnLz Wildlife Care and Rescue can also be contacted via their Facebook page.
