Yahoo News Wombats airlifted to safety as community rallies to evacuate bushfire-menaced wildlife sanctuary
Helicopters, horse floats and dozens of volunteers have joined a mammoth mission to evacuate a wildlife sanctuary of more than 300 animals under threat from the massive fires in New South Wales.
Just under a month ago, the Rural Fire Service told Australia Walkabout Wildlife Park, in Calga, 60km north of Sydney, there was a chance it could come under threat from the Gospers Mountain fire.
Related: The big smoke: how bushfires cast a pall over the Australian summer
The park’s owner, Tassin Barnard, was concerned there was no way to safely evacuate the animals if the blaze descended. She put a call out on Facebook and reached more than 170,000 people.
Containers were brought in to take away the pigs, goats, peacocks, chickens, alpacas and other animals.
“All our farm animals are on the farm and they are having a lovely time – I don’t think they’re going to want to come home,” Barnard said.
The hundreds of kangaroos, emus, koalas, wombats and dingos remained at the sanctuary because Barnard said she had no way to move them in a way that wouldn’t potentially hurt or stress them. So they were protected by an “ark” of water set up on the sanctuary.
Nearly three weeks later, the Gospers Mountain fire still rages. On Friday it had engulfed 230,000 hectares and was threatening to merge with the 6,000-hectare Three Mile blaze near Wisemans Ferry.
The RFS told Barnard two days ago that in this event, the sanctuary could not be protected.
“I felt sick, because I thought I’d made the wrong decision and it was too late,” she said.
Another call was put out to the contacts Barnard and her crew had made and an evacuation plan was drawn up to shift the animals to Blackbutt Reserve, two hours north of the farm.
A helicopter was first procured to take two wombats to Featherdale Wildlife Park.
“They’re two particularly craggy old wombats that weren’t going to take well to travelling anyway, so the fact that we could give them a 15-minute helicopter ride instead of a two- potentially three-hour car trip was really, really important,” she said.
Then two horse floats moved the kangaroos and emus. One provided by a hire company was completely enclosed, and covered in rubber to protect the animals from trying to escape or hurting themselves.
“To move these 40-odd kangaroos and wallabies and five emus, I thought it was two days’ work, and I was also convinced that we were going to have animals injured in the process,” Barnard said.
“But because my team has been practising this for three weeks, they were absolutely phenomenal … We started at 10am and we finished at 2.30pm. And no serious injuries.”
Every animal dependent on the sanctuary is now safe.
“I am so proud of my team,” Barnard said. “It’s just phenomenal the way the community has not just helped, but helped in such an organised and orderly fashion.”
The constant threat of fires burning for weeks and months was exhausting, she said.
“You’re running off adrenaline, but that fight-or-flight thing doesn’t equip you for staying in dangerous situations for weeks. You shut down, you don’t drink, you don’t want to eat, you sweat. All these weird things happen. I’ve been running on hugs.”
Barnard said the fire wasn’t the scariest part. Closure means the park has no income to pay staff or feed animals.
“Just because they’re not here doesn’t mean we don’t have to look after them. It’s just something we are taking on faith that we’ll find a way out at the other end.”
A GoFundMe page set up to support the park has so far raised more than $25,000.
