Rescuers hopping for joy after wallaby rescue

A WALKABOUT wallaby has found a new home on the Surf Coast after becoming trapped for several days at a Geelong factory complex.

Surfcoast Wildlife Rescue’s Jason Cichocki extracted the trapped marsupial from Newtown and returned it to his Wensleydale shelter for a good feed, drink and to reacclimatise in more familiar surroundings.

Mr Cichocki said the rescue was a rare win from a horror February of callouts, which saw dozens of native animals euthanised following similar callouts.

Last month’s save came following a Wildlife Victoria message to the local rescue service in response to calls of a distressed visitor at the industrial site.

“The wallaby had been stuck in the Newtown industrial area for a couple of days,” Mr Cichocki said.

“There were three factories that had a cyclone fence between the three of them, he was hiding down the laneway and behind the fence.

“I set my tranquilising equipment and got a good shot at him, with him being trapped in the location.

“That was the easy part, then I had to break through the fence and get him back on my side so I could transport him back to my place.

“With the help of the workers from the factory, they all helped out and we were able to get him over the fence and into the car while he was still asleep.”

The shelter’s newest resident was evidently grateful for the rescue effort, immediately helping himself to a healthy serving of gum leaves and water before exploring his new home.

“He woke up and we could see straight away he was pretty hungry,” Mr Cichocki said.

“He really enjoyed waking up in a beautiful bush area compared to where he went to sleep; out the back of three concrete factories and some cyclone fencing.

“It didn’t take him long to settle in and start eating the food that was around or the gum leaves and everything.

“He’s still hanging around our property, he has been for the last couple of weeks now.”

The Newtown rescue was a success story that arrived few and far between for Mr Cichocki and his rescue team, which far more often arrives at the scene of lost causes and must end the suffering of animals.

“I’d had quite a bad run of animals needing to be put to sleep, it’s been a shocking last month, we’ve had to put down upwards of 40 to 50 kangaroos and wallabies,” he said.

“It can be a bit sad but occasionally we get one that we’re able to save and we’re able to see them off into the bush and know they’re in a much better place than they were.”

Mr Cichocki’s work as a wildlife rescuer and at the open-space rehabilitation centre earnt him the award of Surf Coast Shire’s Citizen of the Year in 2019.