Aslan Shand
Last Saturday, a wallaby had to be put down after being hit by a vehicle on Seven Mile Beach. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident, with WIRES Northern Rivers secretary Susan Ulyatt telling The Echo that this is the second incident in the last month where a wallaby has been hit by a car and had to be euthanised.
‘With the increase in the traffic and dogs on the beach, the wildlife are losing the battle’, explained Ms Ulyatt.
‘The wildlife in the area are in trouble – when you have a lot of people, and wildlife, the two don’t mix particularly well. Especially at this time of the year, when new visitors aren’t familiar with the area and they don’t know to reduce their speed and be wildlife aware, both on beaches and on the roads’.
The impact of dogs, both local and visiting, is also a major threat to local wildlife, as they often chase wallabies. And even if they don’t catch them, the wallabies often die.
‘The problems for macropods (wallabies, pademelons, and kangaroos) is that they just don’t handle stress’, said Ms Ulyatt.
Killed by stress
‘High levels of stress, particularly from being chased or attacked by dogs, causes myopathy, which is the disintegration of the muscle fibres of the animal.
‘From within 24 hours, up to a few weeks after the incident, the wallaby will show stiffness and paralysis, mainly in the hindquarters, progressing to complete paralysis, it will also salivate excessively. Death will occur within two to fourteen days after the stressful incident’.
WIRES NR are currently caring for a young joey (called Mille), following its mother’ death last month.
‘This little swamp wallaby joey was just five months old, and should have been safely contained within mum’s pouch. She came into care in early November, after being found by a local resident on the pedestrian track at Seven Mile Beach’, Ms Ulyatt told The Echo.
Mille will remain in WIRES care until June 2021, when she will be released back to the wild.
‘If all dogs could be on a leash when on the beach or in [bush] areas, that would be a good start’, said Ms Ulyatt.
WIRES NR has a 24-hour hotline: 6628 1898.
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