A local wildlife shelter is calling for support from community members.
A wombat was found dead on Beachs Lane, Dixons Creek, on Saturday 30 August.
Local wildlife carer Sue Forrester said the body was still flexible and warm when she found the wombat.
“In that female’s pouch, there was a very active joey, a little boy,” she said.
“We were able to extract him from the pouch carefully.
“He didn’t appear to have any injuries. He had a little bit of a bruise on his nose.”
She took the baby wombat to her home for the rest of the night, passed him to Babbajin Park Wildlife Shelter the next morning and then buried the mother wombat later that morning.
The joey is now named Badger.
Babbajin Park Wildlife Shelter founder Tony Woolley said Badger is now in good health.
“Badger will be staying here for two years,” he said.
“When he’s two years old, he should be roughly about 18 to 20kg, and he will be released.”
Ms Forrester set up a GoFundMe to raise funds for Badger and Babbajin Park Wildlife Shelter with a target amount of $3000.
Mr Woolley said he will use the funds not just for Badger but also for the other 47 animals in his care.
“I’ve got to buy formulas and medications not just for Badger,” he said.
“I’ve also got kangaroos, baby possums, sugar gliders and baby wallabies.”
Find out more about the GoFundMe at gofundme.com/f/help-little-badger-grow-up-big-and-strong-and-safe
According to Ms Forrester, eight wombats were killed by cars in Dixons Creek this year.
“A couple of those had babies in their pouches, and that means mother and baby were all killed,” she said.
“We seriously need people, particularly on country lanes and dirt roads, to be respectful and pay more attention to watching the roads more carefully.
“There are wildlife kangaroos, wombats and echidnas.”
Between 2018 and 2023, Wildlife Victoria responded to over 50,000 reports of wildlife injured or killed on Victoria’s roads.
This number rose with Wildlife Victoria recording a 24 per cent increase in cases between 2022 and 2023.
Wildlife Victoria encourages Victorians to avoid travelling at dawn and dusk or, if unavoidable, reduce speed and watch for wildlife.
“If you have struck a native animal, please pull over (when safe to do so) and call Wildlife Victoria. If the animal is a marsupial, it will need to be checked for any pouch young,” the Wildlife Victoria website reads.
Members of the public can report incidents of sick, injured or orphaned native animals found anywhere across the state to Wildlife Victoria’s 24/7 Wildlife Emergency Response Service on (03) 8400 7300 or by filling out the online reporting form at wildlifevictoria.org.au/report-a-wildlife-emergency
