As the flood waters ebb and flow across the Goulburn Valley, hundreds if not thousands of animals might have been lost.
That’s the warning of Wildlife Victoria chief executive Lisa Palma. The not-for-profit organisation that provides Victoria’s wildlife emergency response service has been working around the clock to save as many animals from the floods as possible.
During the first four days of the flooding emergency the organisation received more than a thousand calls from members of the public, and that number only grew as the flooding spread.
Animals have been killed both by flooding and by being hit by vehicles as they make their way on to roads in an attempt to reach higher ground.
“I can tell you we have observed a number of eastern grey kangaroos that have drowned and been hit by cars — we've also had wombats similarly impacted,” Ms Palma said.
Though all animals are a priority, Wildlife Victoria’s efforts are being centred on ground-dwelling animals, be they snakes and lizards, or kangaroos and wombats.
The flooding has been especially problematic for pouched animals, as they would be carrying their young — resulting in two exhausted animals.
Ms Palma has had first-hand experience of this. As a qualified and experienced rescuer, she was with a group of volunteers working to rescue kangaroos and other wildlife that had sought shelter on the causeway between Shepparton and Mooroopna when it was closed to the public.
In one night they rescued eight kangaroos.
“They had been trapped on a very small section of grass on one side of the causeway about a metre wide, with the other side, very very deep water,” Ms Palma said.
As for the animals that do get rescued, those that can be released will be set free once flood waters have receded. However, animals that have been injured often have to be put down.
It is estimated it will take several years for wildlife populations within the flooded region to recover.
As for how many animals have been lost, Ms Palma said it was impossible currently to tell.
“It won’t be until the flood waters recede, and we can actually go in safely to rescue animals in distress, that we'll have a sense of what's happened,” she said.