Category: Help a species

1. URGENT Appeal for Koalas and the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital GoFundMe Appeal

   Posted on 10:00pm Sunday 24th Nov 2019

   I have just read the most terrible news.  Koala populations and their habitat have decreased to such an extent that they are now “functionally extinct”. Forbes.com reports that Chairman of the Australian Koala Foundation estimates that over 1,000 koalas have been killed from the fires.  80% of their habitat has been destroyed, thanksk to bush fires, prolonged drought and deforestation. Functionally extinct occurs where a population has become so limited that their population is  no longer viable. The small number of the surviving animals means that they are unlikely to survive long term.  Koalas eat up to 2 pounds of  eucalyptus leaves a day. And bushfires and deforestation has destroyed this main food source.  The recovery of such plants after fires will take months – so there will be no food for the koalas.  HELP KOALAS The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital has a Go Fund Me page.  The hope was is that they would reach $25,000.  So far, they have raised $1.35 million from 35,000 donors.  One of the things they want to do is to install drinking stations for koalas in areas devastated by the fires.  And they want to have a Koala Ark so that burned koalas can live in a healthy habitat as they recover. The hospital are searching for koalas, along with the National Parks and Wildlife Service crew leaders.  So far 31 koalas have been brought to the hospital from various fire locations.  Koalas arriving at the hospital are rehydrated and examined for burns.  Burns are treated with cream, and then bandaged.  Dressings are changed every three days.  The hospital wanted to raise money to buy and distribute automatic drinking stations in the burnt areas to help koalas and wildlife.  Now, more will be built, and shared with other wildlife organisations in areas affected by fire.   Two will go to the Northern Rivers fire area next week. The hospital is buying a water carrying vehicle with fire fighting capabilities to replenish the drinking stations with water as they need it. Thanks to the incredible amount of money raised, the hospital is going to establish a wild koala breeding programme. The bushfires in and around the Port Macquarie area killed about 350 koalas.  75% of the fireground footprint was prime koala habitat. Be a part of this rescue mission - please donate As well as donating to help the koalas, we can all do what we can do consider how our life style is impacting on the planet.   The human race has caused enough destruction of our natural world.  It’s time to do the right thing and put this right. PLEASE DONATE NOW These koalas need our help All images on this blog copyright to the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital.   PS There's another GoFundMe appeal for the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital Foundation who are also needing funds to help care for koalas affected by wildfires.  Visit their GoFundMe page

2. Koalas need our help as bushfires rage in Australia

   Posted on 4:00pm Friday 1st Nov 2019

   Wildfires often hit the headlines now, but the media are slow to consider the impact they have on wildlife.  Sometimes they say “nobody died” and I really wonder if they are aware of the millions of animals who have been injured or, worst, died in the fires. And at the moment wildfires are raging, in California and New South Wales. In New South Wales, they are burning across Port Macquarie.  It’s estimated that between 20,000 to 48,000 koalas live both here and in Queensland.  They are heading for extinction here as early as 2050. It’s feared that a large number of koalas may have died in the flames.  Others will be homeless as their trees have burnt down; more will be suffering from smoke inhalation or burns. WWF Australia urgently needs all our support to help restore koala habitat and to care for injured wildlife.   Every single koala matters. Please help koalas today and help WWF Australia plant the first 10,000 trees  WWF have launched a plan to save koalas and to help protect and restore the trees they call home. The WWF Plan is called Two Billion Trees, and it’s a commitment to secure two billion trees over the next decade.  These will provide vulnerable wildlife with safe homes by: • Stopping excessive tree-clearing • Protecting existing forest and woodland • Restoring and planting new trees Whatever the outcome for koala numbers, their habitats will need to be restored, both for koalas and other wildlife.  The thing about koalas is that they are dependent on trees.  They need them for their food, their shelter and their safety.   Trees make a difference to koalas.  Without trees, they have nowhere to call home. So the area where the effort is to be concentrated is a koala triangle, between south west Sydney, Gennedah and Noosa.   It’s the heartland of Australia’s healthiest wild koala populations, but it’s threatened, not just by bushfires but by development. Please help plant the first 10,000 urgently needed trees in critical koala habitat, to save our precious koalas before they’re gone forever. All photos are copyright to WWF

    

3. More bears needing help - Meet Tuan, rescued by Animals Asia

   Posted on 8:00pm Tuesday 22nd Oct 2019

   Tuan is safe in Animals Asia's Bear Sanctuary Tuan had been a very lonely bear.  He was caged on an intensive bear farm.  For 15 years.  Animals Asia received an urgent call about this bear.  They went to his rescue, 18 kilometres away, within 90 minutes of receiving the call.  What they found was horrible. Tuan was unhealthy and obese. He was living in filthy conditions, with little or totally unsuitable food. He could hear the deafening sounds of pigs squealing a few feet away.  And now he’s been rescued by charity Animals Asia. Animals Asia hope he will live for another 15 years or more at their Vietnam sanctuary.  That means he needs food, medicines, toys and climbing frames for at least 15 years, to give him the life he deserves. He’s been given the name Tuan after the Vietnam Director of Animals Asia, Tuan Bendixsen. It’s the first time he’s been safe in his life – but he doesn’t know he’s safe.  There is a long road to recovery for Tuan.   He’s deeply traumatised.  And you can help him by helping and donating towards his care. He’s Animal Asia’s 210th rescued bear in Vietnam.  All the bears need help, time and care.  They need food, medicine and enrichment activities. Donate to start Tuan on his road to recovery >>

    

    

4. International Animal Rescue's Great Bear Rescue frees captive bears in Armenia

   Posted on 8:00pm Sunday 6th Oct 2019

   October 2019 marks International Animal Rescue’s two year anniversary of the Great Bear Rescue. And they’ve made a film showing their bear rescue team at work.  In fact, the song is written and sun by a member of their team! Back in October 2017, the embarked on the Great Bear Rescue with their partners FPWC.  Their aim was to rescue every single bear being held captive in appalling conditions across Armenia. And since then, they have rescued 30 bears!  (That's according to their email dated 4th October 2019) Gordon was found slumped on a cold hard floor in a tiny, narrow cage with barely room to turn around.  Dasha, who had spent ten miserable years behind bars in a cramped cage half-submerged in water by a riverside restaurant.  Peter, dubbed the saddest bear in Armenia, was found in a tiny cage in a basement, in total darkness.  Thomas was rescued from a filthy, squalid cage on the side of a road But International Animal Rescue won’t stop until every bear has been rescued.  The day they sent an email with news of the film, two more bears were rescued.  They had been kept caged as status symbols.  And after rescue, they headed to the rescue centre to begin a new life. Find out more about the Great Bear Rescue and how you can help here..  All photos copyright to the International Animal Rescue

    

5. Australian Koalas need help - here's how you can get involved

   Posted on 8:00pm Saturday 5th Oct 2019

   Koalas have been having a critical time, thanks to punishing and devastating heatwaves and people destroying their habitat.  As a result, many are having no choice but to go into urban areas – where threats such as traffic and dogs threaten their very survival on a daily basis. In short, koalas are in crisis. ©IFAW But there is hope, and a way you can help, wherever you are in the world. IFAW (that’s the International Fund for Animal Welfare) have joined forces with Bangalow Koalas in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. Bangalor Koalas help restore essential wildlife corridors which enable koalas to move safely across the landscape – their own motorway network, if you like. The aim is to rescue orphaned koalas and restore vital koala corridors. They need somewhere safe to survive and thrive.   The will is there, and they need the cash to turn the will to do something about it into action and a result for the koalas. The goal is to raise £100,000 to plant 10,000 trees, but there’s more to it than that. Many koalas need help and a second chance to have a life in the wild.   Aminya is one of these; she lost her mother from a terrible fall at the age of 4 months, and so needed long term care.  Friends of the Koala stepped up and looked after her.  ©Friends of the Koala They prepare specialised milk formula, gather fresh leaves and give the koala joeys those essential life skills they need to survive in the wild.  Every single koala matters, so every single koala needs care, whether in the hands of Friends of the Koala or in the wild. Here's how your donation gift could help koalas: A gift of £14 could feed a koala at the nursery for one day  A gift of £40 could provide four eucalyptus trees  A gift of £110 could help us plant a section of eucalyptus forest for wildlife in need  A gift of £196 could feed a koala at the nursery for two weeks Of course, it isn’t just koalas who need trees.  Birds, squirrel gliders, possums, bats and insects all need them as well.  So your gift will help koalas AND a whole number of other species! We need to act now if we want to protect koalas and Australia’s animals from extinction.  DONATE HERE.