With mating season at its peak and an anticipated influx in traffic over Christmas, the International Fund for Animal Welfare [IFAW] is warning residents to be on the lookout for wildlife whilst travelling on Wagga roads.
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Local WIRES Deb Collins said the Christmas period generally see's an increase of roadkill on NSW roads.
"People are often travelling more on country roads, roads they don't know and at times that they are most likely to encounter wildlife, [especially around] dusk and dawn," she said.
"Increased traffic and people rushing often lead to greater levels of road incidents with wildlife. This is also a time when wildlife is very active."
Ms Collins said people should take extra care, particularly over the Christmas period, as this is the peak time for many wildlife to breed.
"If you hit an animal you should stop to render assistance if safe to do so, which will obviously delay your travels," she said.
She is advising motorists to remove roadkill off roads and away from the edge of roads if possible to do safely.
"Raptors will often come down to feed on carcases, with a full stomach, it is harder for them to take off and they often become secondary victims getting hit by vehicles when they are unable to take off quickly," she said.
"Many animals such as kangaroos and wombats can cause significant damage to your vehicle during a collision and can sometimes render your vehicle undrivable.
"Driving cautiously, particularly at peak times for wildlife movement and slowing down in known wildlife hotspots, particularly were signposted, can not only help prevent death or injuries to wildlife but avoid serious accidents and unwanted damage to your vehicle."
Residents who come across injured wildlife are being asked to take action, as opposed to letting it suffer and die.
"If it is safe to do so, please contain the animal. Do not approach snakes, monitors, flying foxes and microbats, large macropods (kangaroos and wallabies) or raptors (eagle, falcons, hawks). These animals require specialist handling and must be rescued by trained wildlife rescuers," she said.
"If you are unfortunate enough to hit a large macropod or wombat, if safe to do so, stop to assist. Observe from a distance, if the animal is still alive, report immediately to WIRES. If the animal is deceased, approach cautiously to confirm, if in any doubt do not approach.
IN OTHER NEWS:
"For a deceased animal, check if it is female and if so, check the pouch for a joey. A joey can survive for many days in the pouch of its deceased mother so it is important to check. If still attached to the teat, contact WIRES for advice on how to remove it. If not attached to the teat, carefully remove the joey (do not pull by the legs) and place in a blanket, jumper, towel or pillowcase."
Ms Collins said it is critical residents get sick and injured wildlife professional treatment as quickly as possible.
"Most vets take wildlife free of charge. If you can, call the vet to let them know you are coming. Not all vets handle all species of wildlife but they will help wherever possible," she said.
"You should also let the local wildlife group know where you've taken an animal so they can follow up with the vet, to bring the animal into care if appropriate."
Personal protective equipment (PPE) could also be a good investment prior to travelling.
"Wear appropriate PPE including gloves and gently place a towel over the animal and place it in a ventilated box with lid and transport it carefully to the nearest vet if possible," Ms Collins said.
"Keep the animal in a warm, dark, quiet place. Minimise stress to the animal by keeping people and pets away from it and noise to a minimum. If you are unable to transport it to a vet, contact the WIRES 24-hour rescue hotline on 1300 094 737 and request assistance."
Ms Collins said through downloading the free IFAW Wildlife Rescue App, you will be able to get in contact with wildlife groups who can assist you, as one has to be licensed to look after wildlife.
"During holiday periods, people often find an orphaned joey which they decide to keep for the kids or grandkids to enjoy and try to raise it themselves. They will contact WIRES when the joey becomes sick, or gets diarrhoea due to stress and being fed incorrectly," Ms Collins said.
"It is much more challenging for both the joey and the carer to try and restore the health of a joey that has been inappropriately cared for, even for a short period.
"If you are not a trained and licensed carer, please do not attempt to raise a joey yourself. These animals can be in care for up to 18 months and required specialised care and feeding. Native wildlife should never be fed human milk products, they require specialised formulas for their species."
Ms Collins said while she doesn't believe rain and flooding necessarily cause wildlife to flock to roads across the state, it is a no brainer that travellers should be on the lookout.
"Our wildlife's territory has been so broken up by development that they are often forced to cross roads to get to grazing or browsing areas and to access the feed that they desire, water, or to escape predators," she said.
"During mating season, wildlife is often forced to cross roads to establish new territory and find a partner. In floods, wildlife will try to get to whatever high ground they can including roads if that is the safest place for them to shelter. During storms, they tend to shelter wherever they feel safe. One of the worst impacts of floods can often be to wombats who can get trapped inside their flooded burrows."
WIRES recently posted on Facebook information on a Wildlife Rescue Car Kit that they said everyone should carry.
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