Emerald Monbulk Wildlife Shelter

Emerald Monbulk wildlife Shelter

Emerald Monbulk Wildlife shelter in the Dandenong Ranges is run by the incredibly dedicated Carol Seeger.

Carol has been caring for injured and orphaned wildlife for over 30 years. On any given day, it’s not unusual to have several hundreds of animals on the property (aka mouths to feed and care for).

Sadly, there is very little support in running a wildlife shelter. Carol takes in orphaned, displaced and injured native animals daily and gets no funding. Everything is paid for out of her (and her long-suffering husband Mark’s) pocket. Our volunteers assist with bringing in supplies; however the costs associated with running a shelter at this scale are incredibly substantial. Carol being the generous person she is, rarely asks for help.

What costs are associated with running the Shelter?

Formula for our young macropods and marsupials is vital to their well-being and development - a 20kg bag costs over $500. We make up multiple litres of formula daily and go through these bags every few weeks. On top of this we need a constant supply (many kgs) of fruit and vegetables for our birds and possums, meat and insects for our omnivorous and carnivorous birds, and general staples such as seed and pellets. In addition to this, we have the behind-the-scenes costs of running such a set-up - including; water and electricity bills, medications and vet expenses, infrastructure and building materials for adequate housing/enclosures, as well as travel and petrol costs associated with rescues and wildlife transport.

What kind of animals does the shelter care for?

We care for everything from Eastern grey kangaroos, swamp wallabies and bare-nosed wombats to blue tongue lizards, parrots and even the occasional sugar glider and echidna.

A shelter success story..

In early July 2022 one of our rescuers was called out to an adult brushtail possum who had been hit by a car and left on the road. After being assessed by a vet, she came to us with soft tissue swelling around her spine, a pelvic fracture and a concussion. Her prognosis was not great. We moved her into a comfortable aviary and administered pain relief and fluids. She instantly became a favourite amongst volunteers for her sweet personality and love of kale (and mealworms). Often possums get a bad rap due to their displacement in urban environments - they seek shelter in roofs and gardens as much of their natural habitat has been disturbed. You will find though, that possums are full of charm, personality and cheekiness.

In late July, our beautiful brushtail was picking up. She was much brighter and gained her balance and movement back. We also noticed that she had gained quite a bit of weight! Just as we were contemplating putting her on Jenny Craig, we noticed our lovely lady actually had a newborn joey in her pouch. The excitement of watching such an incredible recovery, as well as now seeing a healthy baby, was such a miracle. The great news didn’t stop there, however - a few weeks later, we discovered that our miracle baby was in fact, twins! The occurrence of twins in brushtail possums is incredibly rare - so the fact that our, now affectionately named ‘Mama Poss’ survived being hit by a car and carried on two have two bubs is truly incredible. Being in care has allowed her the safety and substantial nutrients needed to care for two young. A task that would be incredibly difficult for her in the wild where food is often scarce. Part of our improved infrastructure and care plan for Mama Poss has included the build of a large soft-release aviary where she can continue to raise her babies until they are old enough to care for themselves. As possums occupy territories, this set-up was done at a release site nearby. This requires considerable planning and logistics both from the build perspective and in terms of care and food supply.

What does a day look like at the Shelter?

Our morning crew of volunteers arrive around 8:30am. They will start by prepping formula and making up bottles for the orphaned joeys in care. On any given day, there could be 20-30+ joeys (kangaroos, wombats and possums) and a further 10-15+ adolescents, all requiring multiple milk feeds. These numbers spike during spring when young are born and tragically separated from their mums (either through road accidents, cat and dog attacks or natural disasters).

Once the morning feeds are complete, healthy babies are taken outside to stretch their legs, enjoy some sun and learn that the outside world isn't so scary.

Meanwhile, our volunteers start cleaning out and disinfecting all of the baby enclosures as well as washing and drying the many pouches we go through daily. Our washing machine runs approximately 10 hours out of the day with the hundreds of towels, pouches, blankets and beds that we wash per week).

We prep fruit and vegetables for our adult animals awaiting release and our resident birds. We go through kilos of fresh produce each shift.

Meat meals are made up for our meat eating birds. This includes kookaburras, magpies, tawny frogmouths, butcher birds and the occasional water bird. A large number of these birds come into care after being displaced as young or as adults who have been hit by cars while catching insects at dusk. Sadly, car headlights attract flying insects, creating a dangerous feeding ground for our nocturnal birds.

Once all food is prepped, it is onto cleaning all outside enclosures and flight aviaries. This includes a thorough clean of all floors, feeding and water stations. Aviaries are then re-stocked with fresh foliage, fruits, vegetables and seeds. This ensures enrichment for the birds. Our juvenile kangaroos and wombats also get fed their bottles and supplementary food while they are transitioning to living in the wild.

Ongoing foliage collection is a mammoth task and vital to our animals' health and wellbeing. Our dedicated volunteers collect fresh native foliage and flowers daily to ensure our birds and possums are supplied with as much of their natural diet as possible. We also rely heavily on a few kind neighbours who provide freshly cut grass every few days.

Our morning crew usually finish up around 1pm before our afternoon volunteers arrive. Our afternoon team will commence the second round of feeds in the early afternoon. This often includes another 20-30 bottles. Once all babies are fed, they are brought back inside for the evening, where they are nice and warm. In addition, we often have a number of baby birds that require constant feeding throughout the day - and they definitely let you know! Our afternoon crew also attend to all of our juvenile and adult ringtail and brushtail possums. As per our other enclosures, this includes a thorough clean, fresh foliage, water, fruit and vegetables. We get dozens of calls to take in baby possums as small as 50g who require milk every 3 hours.

The above happens daily - rain, hail or shine. We have a full roster of volunteers who help out 7 days a week as it is a 24/7 job. Carol is always on call - whether it is overnight feeding, pouch checks or rescues, she truly never gets a break. Carol has dedicated her life to helping our incredible native animals and always does so with a smile, incredible warmth, and empathy.

We rely on your generosity to help Carol and her volunteers continue to care for our beautiful wildlife. Every dollar helps us make change in these animals' lives and also allows us to continue to educate the public about how special our Australian wildlife is.

How will your donations be used?

Building new enclosures and aviaries

Maintenance and improving current enclosures for animals

Setting up safe release sites for the animals raised in our care

Bags of milk formula, pellets, seed and vital supplements

Bottles, teats and bedding

Cleaning supplies (including mops, disinfectants, detergents, cloths etc)
Necessary appliances and their maintenance (bottle cleaners, washing machine, dryer etc)

Setting up carers with supplies to alleviate the stress on the shelter

Petrol to help with rescues

Water and electricity bills

Vet expenses and medications

We appreciate your ongoing support and thank you for being part of this journey with us.

Emerald Monbulk Wildlife Shelter Volunteers xx