To borrow the lyrics from a Paul Kelly song: “From little things big things grow.” What if the little thing was a dizzy penguin and the big thing is a wildlife refuge?

On the east coast of Tasmania, nestled in the quiet, is a privately owned wildlife refuge called Pademelon Park. Established as a non-profit organisation, the highly competent, altruistic owners provide a sanctuary for injured and orphaned animals as well as a 24/7 wildlife rescue service. As a non-commercial enterprise, the owners are not legally permitted to exhibit the animals in their care for monetary gain, which means the park is entirely funded through donations from local community groups and generous individuals. With no government support, it’s a relentless, financial balancing act, as the emergency rescue, transport, care and rehabilitation of injured and orphaned animals is an expensive business.

Bandages, ointments, antibiotics, painkillers… the list is extensive and expensive. Similarly, the cost of feeding the animals is immense. Consider this… the milk powder substitute suitable for kangaroo and wallaby joeys has a price tag of $48 per kilogram. Very young joeys are monitored constantly by the owners, Geoff and Vicki, and are bottle-fed at four-hourly intervals, five times per day for up to four months. Multiply that by 20 joeys in care… you do the math. As the babies grow, the frequency of bottle-feeds is reduced, and other foods are introduced. These additional food items provide the animals with a daily feast of textures and colours and, although essential, they also add to the food bill.

Kangaroos and wallabies are classified as macropods, as are pademelons, tree-kangaroos, bettongs, quokkas and potoroos. In Latin, the word macropod means ‘large foot’ so it translates that all these animals are characterised by their large hind legs and feet. Although this small group of animals are classified as macropods, they are also marsupials. The macropod marsupials that reside at the refuge include eastern grey kangaroos, Bennett’s wallabies and pademelons but the other macropods on the list do not live in Tasmania, therefore have never been in care at Pademelon Park.

All marsupial babies are called joeys, and a newborn joey is called a ‘pinkie’ because it’s tiny, pink and hairless. As the baby matures and develops, soft hair grows and at this stage the baby is known as a ‘velvet’.  In the wild, a joey will live in its mother’s pouch for up to five months and will suckle on her milk. However, if a mother animal is killed, most-often by a vehicle, the tiny joey often dies too. Unless, of course, someone checks to see if the adult animal is female and to see if she has a joey in her pouch. It follows, that the person then needs to know what to do and who to call for assistance.

With the growing popularity of Tasmania as a tourist destination, the island state has seen a huge increase in visitor numbers, which means more vehicles on Tasmanian roads. More vehicles = more vehicle strikes = more animals in care. In fact, most of the animals at Pademelon Park come into care in this way.

However, kangaroos, wallabies and pademelons are not the only marsupials at the park. Numerous wombats and possums also call the park their home. The common wombat is the only species of wombat found in Tasmania. Their name, however, is a misnomer as this marsupial is anything but common. Also known as the bare-nosed wombat or the coarse-haired wombat, these animals are sturdy and strong with short, stubby legs and sharp claws, ideal for digging burrows. With a backward facing pouch, a burrowing mother wombat can protect her joey, which makes her clever, not common.

The collective noun for a group of wombats is a ‘wisdom’, which is apt because wombats are wise. However, it’s also ironic that a collective noun has been allocated to wombats because, in the wild, adult wombats are solitary, territorial creatures with a large, established range in which to live and feed.

Over the years, most, but not all, of the emergency rescues carried out by the staff at Pademelon Park have been because an animal has been injured or killed by a vehicle. However, a small percentage of animals have come into the refuge because of interactions with feral animals. Accurate numbers of such interactions are, however, difficult to ascertain because feral animals will often kill and eat native wildlife rather than injure them. Feral cats, for example, have had a significant, negative impact on Tasmania’s unique wildlife. Roaming along coastal paths and foreshore tracks, feral cats are exceptional hunters of little blue penguins and their chicks and other birds that nest in the scrub along the foreshore. These feline warriors always triumph; the chicks are devoured and the injured parent penguins have, at times, been rescued and rehabilitated. However, as Vicki, said: “Some of the animals are here because of feral people not feral animals.”

Eventually the wombats, and the other animals at this refuge, are released into the wild but until then they are safe, well-fed, and exceptionally well-cared for by their two compassionate caretakers.

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