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WINNING
WILDLIFE STORY
 I
came to the Dandenongs looking for healing. I hoped
the ancient magic of the forest would rejuvenate my
sick body and restore my shattered mind. I was a broken
person grieving the death of both my parents and the
end of my marriage. I knew I needed to make a fresh
start here in my new home and community, but I didn’t
know how to begin.
I spent a lot of time in my garden
marvelling at its lushness while contemplating how to
proceed with my life. One morning I found a little bundle
of brown fur under a rose bush. I gingerly picked it
up and discovered it was a baby ringtail possum. It
snuggled into the palm of my hand and wrapped its tail
around my little finger. I was dizzy with an overwhelming
feeling of love. I put the little possum down my top
for warmth and so it could hear the comforting beat
of my heart.
I rang the local vet to find out
what else I could do for the tiny creature. I was informed
I was not permitted to keep wildlife without a licence
and that if I brought it into the clinic they would
look it over, free of charge, and then pass it onto
the wildlife rescue people. I said I would bring it
in. I felt heartbroken. I hadn’t expected to have
to give up the baby possum so soon.
I took the possum to the vet and
left it there. When I arrived home I wept, suddenly
filled with enormous loneliness. I have a dog and two
cats and they nestled into me affectionately while I
sobbed on the couch, but their efforts weren’t
enough to console me. I felt as if I needed that little
possum. I felt that if I could help it overcome being
without its parents, then somehow, I would be able to
overcome being without mine. I decided to do something
positive instead of just crying. I went back to the
vet’s and asked how I could become involved with
wildlife rescue and rehabilitation.
That act was a defining moment in
my life.
I was given the number of some people
who ran a wildlife shelter and needed an extra foster
carer to help. Within weeks I was licensed, had cages
built and one of my bedrooms converted into an animal
nursery. Then my first official baby ringtail arrived.
I named her ”Petal”.
It was just like that first meeting with a baby ringtail
possum – I fell immediately in love. She only
weighed sixty grams and required feeding with a special
milk formula every three-and-a-half hours – even
at night time. As my life suddenly had meaning again
I didn’t mind at all.
In the two year since then I have
looked after dozens of possums, both brushtail and ringtail;
kookaburras; tawny frogmouth owls; magpies; ducklings;
echidnas – and I’m just an apprentice! That’s
just a sample of the many wonderful creatures that we
have up here in the Dandenong Ranges.
That little possum I found under
a rose bush in my garden showed me the way to proceed
with my life. I am no longer miserable. The little creatures
I’ve been blessed to share my home with have given
me such tremendous love and joy, and they keep me so
busy I haven’t got time to get weepy. I’ve
also made a lot of new human friends through caring
for wildlife and I now feel like I am part of my new
community. In reaching out to a little possum it’s
as if I’ve reached out to myself. This is how
the ancient magic of the forest works.
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