07/03/2025
News from the wildlife animal shelter from Yasmine:
The emus are at their release site now.
Well done everyone, for your dedication and care for these special 5. Each has their their own amazing story of survival and perseverance and they are truly incredible individuals.
We were reminiscing over their individual stories;
Kath and Kim were found emaciated and collapsed, alone on the bush near a dirt bike path. We suspect bikes had scared off dad days prior and these tiny hatchlings had survived by huddling together. They were tubefed and kept in my brooder at home for a while before our emu queen Sue took them under her wing.
Meep was by far the saddest case. He was the only survivor after multiple vehicles ploughed though his family on a road near Esperance. He was left there with his dying dad and tiny siblings until a kind motorist stopped and collected him, kept him overnight and then took him to a kind wildlife carer down south. Out of her depth, the carer networked with her southern people and eventually was put in contact with myself. She and I talked daily for a while as we developed a care plan for the badly injured Meep who was collapsed and suffering with hypothermia and myopathy. She did an amazing job and followed the plan to a tee until Meep was stable enough to be transported to Perth by a lovely truck driver. With all his other challenges, meep also had stress induced coccidiosis and needed high level care at home with me for some time before he was ready to join K&K. Meep was buddied with Japanese quail for company - very important for myopathy emu chicks.
Next came Sharon. Sharon, well I think she's actually a he, was a victim of hunting, we believe. Her dad was shot and she and a siblings were caught and kept by MOPs until the sibling died and rescuer finally agreed to surrender her. Sharon was emaciated and only about 1 week old on admission. She was floppy, in severe myopathy and had oral burns/blusters/ulcers from being force fed hot tea by the family who kept her. We were just so thankful they agreed to surrender her before she met the same fate as her sibling. She was the smallest of the original 4 and was also buddied with Japanese quail for a long time until she was big enough to go into A Pen with the bigger chicks.
Lastly...
Walton. Walton was rescued by environemtnal officers who were working at a mine site in the Goldfields. He was found unable to move and only a week old. The workers called me directly for assistance and I talked them through how to keep him comfortable until they could transport him to us. It was clear from the footage they sent that one of his legs was not normal. On admission we discovered he had a fractured tibiotarsus, mid long bone. I cared for Walton at home for weeks initially as he was tubefed and brought back to healthy. He was also buddied with the pair of Japanese quails (bless them). Walton was then moved to viv2 in the now Isolation Room, and then the PE in A Pen with twice weekly leg bandage changed and leg repair reviews. Walton had the good life with so much amazing food and his only competition were the placid quails for so long that he actually outgrew the much older Sharon. Walton is now a very active, playful emu and finally big enough to avoid foxes.
They are all so, so special. I'll be working closely with the property owners where they are currently to ensure they settle well. So far, they have exceeded expectations and settled in well.
Photo 📸 = Kath who had lived up to her namesake with the big afro. 😍🥰
