I receive my induction chat along with the other new volunteers at the Fauna Rescue centre in Malaga (pronounced Ma –LA -ga) Western Australia, just North of Perth.
After a tour of the animals in for rehab at the moment I was put on food prep duty. Each animal has a menu on the wall with a square indicating the size of the chunks of food each species can eat. You then need to locate the meal components for each species which could be anything from beetroot to peppermint branches, chop it up and assemble a corresponding bowl of appropriate dinner for feeding time.
Red Roo
Luckily, chopping up fruit and veg with a blunt knife is something I’ve been doing for years at home and I was certain that I must excel at this task.
In the afternoon, I did a bit of computer support and helped to edit some of NAR’s educational leaflets, I felt my standing had improved and I was given a brush tailed Possum called Peppi to cuddle as a reward. He was unfazed by the attention as he peeped out from his pillow case. Most of the animals here are wild and are hopefully to be re -released so only a few can actually be handled at all, which is a bit of a blow.
One of the young volunteers, Daniel, had gone awol without permission which is not allowed in the reserve. It turned out he’d gone home in a huff because someone had advised him how to improve his sweeping up technique. You have to be careful how you give domestic guidance to the male of the species… Can you catch a cockatoo?
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