Charlotte Varcoe
THE Metropolitan Fire Services (MFS) was called to the Blue Lake Pumping Station to free a trapped wallaby recently.
The young wallaby found herself stuck between two bars after trying to flee the area with concerned members of the community calling local wildlife rescuers to the scene.
Mount Gambier wildlife carer, Julia Dangerfield tried to free the animal herself, yet soon realised it was a job outside her capabilities.
“I ended up having to get the MFS to come down and free the wallaby from the bars,” Ms Dangerfield said.
“What had happened was the wallaby may have been spooked and tried to escape through the bars before getting stuck.”
Ms Dangerfield said a wallaby’s rib cage was able to compress to fit through tight places, but when they squeeze past, their rib cage often expands again and the animal becomes stuck between their ribs and pelvis.
“When we called the MFS we were hoping they would be able to bend the bars enough so we could get the wallaby out,” she said.
“It was quite funny because when the MFS workers went to go get their tools, someone stayed behind to try and bend the bars which ended up snapping.”
The wallaby was soon freed and checked by vets with the only injuries being slight bruising on the abdomen.
“Often we find wallabies stuck in farming fencing or residential fencing and it usually happens because they are spooked by a dog or something similar,” Ms Dangerfield said.
“This was the first time I had ever been called to a wallaby getting stuck in the fence at the pumping station.
“But it seems to always be the wallabies that end up in this sort of trouble.”
