What To Do If Your Car Hits A Wombat
The wombat is an unusual marsupial, found in parts of Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania. These large furry creatures must increasingly look for food in new places, and their travels can sometimes lead them into danger. Sadly, one study found that 3,000 common wombats die on NSW roads every year. Find out what you need to do if the worst happens and your vehicle collides with one of these large mammals.
Immediate steps to take
You should stop the car as soon as it safe to do so. Try not to panic and slam on your brakes, as this could cause a hazard to other drivers. Put your hazard lights on, and make sure everybody else stays in the vehicle out of harm's way.
Moving the animal off the road
You need to move injured or dead wombats off the road. A dead wombat's carcass could still cause another accident, and an injured animal will obviously need assistance. In either case, the Wombat Protection Society of Australia advises that you should move the animal onto its side or back before sliding onto the verge. This will avoid further injury to a joey that is in the mother's pouch.
If you cannot move the animal, call for assistance. Try to find the details of a local vet clinic like Baw Baw Paws Vet Clinic or rescue organisation, but you can also call the police if you have no other alternative.
Getting help - joeys
If the adult wombat is dead, there isn't much you can do, but you must check if the animal has a joey in its pouch. The pouch sits in the middle of the stomach towards the wombat's back legs and is normally quite easy to spot.
Wherever possible, you should call a vet or rescue organization to help remove the joey from the pouch. It isn't always easy to safely extricate the baby wombat, and you may harm the tiny animal in the process. That aside, if you have no alternative (for example, if the adult is dead and you cannot get local help) you will probably have to cut the teat from the joey's mouth with a knife or scissors.
If you do safely rescue a joey, wrap the animal in a blanket or towel to keep the wombat warm. Place the animal somewhere dark and quiet and get the baby wombat to a vet as quickly as possible. Don't give the animal anything to eat or drink. Wombats need a special type of milk and even water could make them ill.
Getting help – adults
An injured adult wombat will need veterinary care as soon as possible. It's always best if you can get a vet to come out to the site of the accident, but you may sometimes need to take the animal somewhere in your car.
Carefully roll the animal onto a blanket before lifting into your car. Cover the animal's head and, if possible, gently secure the wombat in a sleeping bag or other container, so that he or she cannot get loose in the car. If you put the wombat in your car boot, make sure he or she has enough air to breathe.
Australian vets will generally treat injured wildlife without charge, so don't abandon an injured wombat because of the possible costs. While many wombats don't survive these accidents, prompt action can still save precious animal lives.