Shelter for wildlife – Inge, one of the hundred of animals injured in the bushfires, recovers

By Tania Martin
MACCLESFIELD’S kangaroo champion Tina Hudson-Davies is offering a helping hand to some of Black Saturday’s most exposed victims.
Ms Hudson-Davies of Shangri-La Wildlife Shelter took in a number of burnt wallabies and joeys last week.
But the first, a badly burnt wallaby, had to be put down.
“We took the bandages off but found that its feet and hands were cooked…the skin was peeling off,” Ms Hudson-Davies said.
Shangri-La also took in a 1.5-kilogram joey from Toolangi that was hurt in the fires.
“We only have animals dribbling in at the moment. We could have been inundated but we are waiting to see what happens with the Healesville and Gembrook fires,” Ms Hudson-Davies said.
Ms Hudson-Davies is getting ready to flee at the first sign of threat.
“We are just sitting back waiting to be hit by fire. We can see the flames coming towards us in the distance.”
The Hudson-Davies’s even came under ember attack last week on Black Saturday from the Kilmore fires.
“We have ashes in our yard from embers but they weren’t alive,” she said.
“Our yard is full of blackened leaves.”
Ms Hudson-Davies said, as the family got ready to flee, they also faced a heart-breaking decision: they were going to have to leave behind two kangaroos.
The family has 11 kangaroos, a joey, two baby wombats, a wallaby, a sugar glider and a Jack Russell.
“It was horrible. There was no way we were going to agree on who to leave behind,” she said.
“But it’s nothing to what these other shelters went through.”