Roos at home: how a group of Victorians helped save wildlife from raging fires

Key Points

More than 75,000 hectares, roughly the size of Singapore, have been burned in the fires around the Grampians.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said damage assessments were underway.
The national park is home to hundreds of species.

As massive bushfires raged A group of nervous kangaroos have found an unlikely sanctuary in the home of an animal shelter operator.

Grampians National Park, Victoria’s fourth largest national park, is home to 230 species of birds, 40 species of mammals, 30 species of reptiles, 11 species of amphibians and six species of fish. It is also home to the eastern gray kangaroo.

Three residential houses and almost a dozen outbuildings have been destroyed in fires around the national park and Macedon Range, which have so far burned more than 76,000 hectares, about the size of Singapore.

Kangaroos in the living room

Louise Bonomi, a volunteer at the Wildwood Wildlife Shelter in the Victoria Valley, described how kangaroos seemed “nervous” when bushfires intensified in the Grampians on Boxing Day and sprinklers from the roof of the house shelter operator Pam Turner were lit. .

Credit: Provided

Bonomi said the kangaroos had become “stressed”.

“They don’t like coming and going. They don’t like the sound of the pumps,” she told SBS News.

“I think wildlife can detect when there’s a fire in their area, their habitat.”

That’s when Turner decided to bring 20 of the children into his living room.

“(She) brought everyone she could inside so they could seek shelter in the house, and they all did very well,” Bonomi said.

“They’re safe. Thank goodness it was a real relief to get through Boxing Day.”

Extent of wildlife losses unknown

The extent of the damage caused by the bushfires to the wildlife of the Grampians National Park is not yet clear.

Bonomi said their well-being was of great concern.

n out-of-control bushfire in the Grampians National Park, Victoria, on Saturday December 21, 2024. Source: PAA / State Control Center / Image Pr

“Given the scale and intensity of these fires, I think everyone is expecting the worst,” Bonomi said.

“But of course we just have to wait and see if there were any survivors.

“We very much hope to see the State Government deploy its wildlife welfare assessment teams as a priority to fire scenes in case of survivors.”

Meanwhile, the Victorian Kangaroo Alliance has called for an end to the state’s kangaroo harvesting program.

On Sunday, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said damage assessments were underway.

The full impact of the fire also remains uncertain, but there are reports of a significant loss of livestock.

Cooler weather has improved working conditions for firefighters battling the blaze in Victoria, but Bonomi appealed for help from the public to help wildlife in the region.

“Even when the fires are finally put out, there will be larger than usual numbers of wildlife that could be displaced, that could be on the road,” she said.

“So please, if you are driving around the fire area, slow down. Be safe and call local shelters for help if you encounter any animals in need.”

– additional reporting by AAP