NATIVE ARC MANAGERS REPORT

HIGHLIGHTS There has been a lot of activity at the centre over the last 12 months. This has been facilitated by our fantastic group of committed volunteers who give their time not only caring for wildlife but also assisting in fundraising, education and other activities that increase the capacity of the centre to provide the community with the opportunity to bring injured wildlife to the centre and learn about sustainability practices. Native ARC is open 365 days a year and operates an afterhours service. We are able to do this due to our volunteers providing their time to keep the centre open even on Christmas day. Over the past 12 months four new enclosures were built based on DEC standards. Streamlined procedures in the hospital and in the second and third stage rehabilitation areas has also resulted in an increased number of wildlife recovering and released back into the environment. The centre successfully obtained a new grant for 2013 which will enable the construction of additional enclosures. Volunteer numbers have increased and a revised induction process, mentoring and in house training has contributed to the up skilling of new and existing volunteers resulting in enhanced outcomes and the enjoyment experienced by each volunteer.

Over 1400 animals were admitted in 2012 and 65 rescues were undertaken by a group of intrepid volunteers committed to saving wildlife from very difficult situations. Over 20,497 volunteer hours were recorded. This does not include rescue hours, home care, fundraising, training and other related activities.
The centre continues to offer placements for people with disabilities and hosted over 17 corporate volunteering days on site. In addition over 2,200 primary/secondary school education hours were provided and 26 schools participated in work experience programs. In addition to TAFE and university placements, training for veterinary students and nurses was provided and in excess of 1900 specialist training hours for in house volunteers was undertaken.

At the 2012 AGM two new Executive Committee members were appointed bringing the number of members to eight. The committee comprises of members with financial/accounting expertise, small business experience, private sector policy/legislation experience at a State/Federal level, public sector experience at a senior executive level, experience relating to running a not for profit organisation, and 2 DEC Registered Wildlife Rehabilitators. This broad range of experience is invaluable as the centre moves forward and participates in current and future initiatives. A Charitable Collections Licence a new requirement of the W.A Department of Commerce for any non-profit organisations wishing to undertake fundraising activities has been obtained. Native ARC continues to participate as a member of the Cockburn Wetlands Precinct and the group is working towards developing the precinct as a sustainability showcase and resource for the Cockburn community. While there has been substantial development over the last 12 months the centre will continue to work towards pursuing ongoing improvements and expanding our educational role to ensure all levels of the community appreciate the importance of protecting the environment and the wildlife that inhabits it. Partnerships with the private, public and community sectors will continue to be developed as the centre expands its capacity to care for wildlife.

Of course all this would not be possible without the assistance of a fantastic group of volunteers who are the backbone of the organisation. We are very lucky to have them and recognise their commitment to wildlife and the environment.
The Executive Committee

NATIVE ARC TRAINING 2013

This year has kicked off with lightning speed with a huge calendar full of training initiatives. Native ARC prides itself on its training programs for its volunteers and feedback received has been nothing but positive. In addition to providing training to its own volunteers, Native ARC provided training for carers from numerous wildlife centres across Perth and even some carers from Busselton. One of the volunteers said to me that we provide such brilliant training and we dont charge enough for the amount of effort that goes into all the planning. Whilst I can appreciate this, we are just so appreciative of all the volunteers for giving up more of their time, on top of everything else they do for the centre. We like to provide this training as a way of saying thank you - Dean Huxley, Animal Care Coordinator.

Volunteers attending an Assessment & Examination workshop presented by Dean Huxley.

ROOS GONE WILD!

Most of you have noticed the population explosion of Joey kangaroos at Native ARC. They will soon be taking over the whole centre!! Native ARC established a kangaroo enclosure in 2012 in preparation for joeys to be kept on site. Over the past few years kangaroos were kept off site with home rehabilitators. The 5 joeys, Kia, Kiaema, Matari, Milly and Big Bertha have all made plenty of friends (human ones) in the 8 months that they have been visiting Native ARC. They will be at Native ARC until they are 10-15kg where they will be transferred for a pre-release. Keep your eye out as you will be seeing more of these cute little kids in the coming weeks. Kiaema (front) & Milly (back)
WHATS FOR DINNER?

Earlier this year Native ARC received quite an unusual admission. A juvenile kookaburra with its dinner still hanging out of its mouth. Oh, its dinner was a 55cm dugite! The rescuer had observed the mother pick up the dugite and feed it to the baby. He was unsure if the snake was dead or alive or if the kookaburra would be harmed. Native ARC volunteers removed the potentially lethal elapid from the kookaburra and discovered it was dead. The mother had obviously crushed the head as the skull was badly damaged. Dugite removed from juvenile kookaburra After all that effort, the poor little bugger didnt even get his dinner!

ANIMAL CARE REPORT

By Dean Huxley, Native Arc Animal Care Coordinator What can I say? It was a great year! 2012 has got to be one of the best years I have been privileged to share with Native ARC. With over 1400 admissions, it was a great year indeed. The main reason is due to the amazing group of dedicated volunteers. In the time I have spent at Native ARC I have watched the organization grow from a handful of volunteers to a team of over one hundred. Such an increase has allowed Native ARC to care for more animals with less stress on its existing volunteers. A happy volunteer makes many happy animals. The quality of care provided during 2012 was the best I have ever seen. Not only do we have more volunteers, but the skill level and knowledge of the volunteers is improving on a daily basis. We have a very positive volunteer culture where everyone encourages one another to always achieve higher standards. I am very proud to be involved with an organization that has such inspirational people. 2012 saw big changes to our stage 1 areas and how we hospitalize patients. A revamp of our hospital and an upgrade in space allows us to care for almost triple the amount of patients in stage 1. This has helped to ease workload in our other areas and it has also ensured some of the more critical cases received the intensive care they desperately need. The development of an Examination Room provides newly admitted animals with a quiet environment to de-stress and be examined in a quiet environment. New faecal testing procedures have played a critical role in diagnosing disease and treating animals. Native ARC is very grateful for the ongoing support provided by Kanyana Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre for testing our faecals on a regular basis. The construction of state of the art raptor and bandicoot enclosures has been such a positive experience. The new enclosures are the first of many new enclosures to be built as part of the new precinct and the enclosures will assist greatly with housing some of our more specialized patients. The development of a Magpie release committee was an absolute blessing. With over 160 magpies admitted during 2012, almost every single viable magpie was returned to its tribe. We only had to soft release 4 juveniles in comparison to over 40 in 2009. Magpies require a huge amount of resources and volunteer time. The magpie committee assisted greatly by ensuring we were moving the magpies through rehabilitation as needed.

ANIMAL CARE REPORT CONTINUED....

A quiet duckling season helped as we only admitted 150 ducklings as opposed to 270 in 2011. More water in the surrounding wetlands this year meant we did not have to travel far for releases. An industrial food processor capable of finely chopping lettuce in mere seconds alleviated a lot of time and stress on our volunteers. Our home rehabilitators were kept very busy during spring with hundreds of baby birds admitted. Native ARC has over 25 home rehabilitators who all do a remarkable job caring for our little orphans who sometimes require twenty minute feeds. A very big thank you to all of our home rehabilitators we would not have made it through baby bird season without you. Implementation of feeding plans for animals in stage 2 and 3 as well as new treatment forms and procedures resulted in improved outcomes. Whilst I could spend all day writing about how wonderful Native ARC is I simply do not have enough space. I would once again like to thank all of Native ARCs amazing volunteers for the work they all do every day. Keep up the great work!
DRAGGING HIS FEET

Last year Native ARC received a call from the City of Cockburn rubbish tip concerning a pelican that appeared to have some sort of glue or object around its feet. Alex made his way to the tip and was allowed access by staff on site. After driving down to a few gates they found the pelican. The poor bird had stepped in some quick set foam. The foam is designed to spray on and then dries very quickly. Both the birds feet were heavily encased in this material and it was struggling to balance let alone walk. Rescue skills set in and Alex was quickly on top of the Pelican and secured him before he could fly away. After transporting him back to Native ARC, the material was carefully removed. The pelican was suffering from shock, dehydration and malnourishment. Two weeks of TLC and the pelican was fit and healthy and ready for release. Alex returned the pelican to Coogee beach where he will hopefully stay out of trouble. Alex releasing the pelican at Coogee Beach!

NATIVE ARC ANIMAL RESCUE

This rescue took place about 2 months ago down at a cafe in East Fremantle. It was a Sunday morning when we were very quiet and we received a call regarding a Corella that was hanging upside down in a tree outside a cafe. Apparently the tree was about 20ft high and we could reach it if we had a big ladder. Fair enough. So Alex and I chucked the rescue kit in the car and strolled on down to check things out. When we arrived there were at least 100, 20ft trees and about 500 corellas up in the trees. This was going to be good! So after a few minutes we spotted the Corella upside down in the tree. The poor bloke had his feet tangled up in fishing line around a branch and some sticks and could not free himself (who knows for how long). He was clearly becoming more and more distressed by the minute. We assessed the situation for about 10 mins and ran through a few different scenarios which included Alex going all hulk and tossing one of the passing toddlers up 30 feet to retrieve the bird. But we thought better of it! We spoke to the shop owner and a few locals who claimed to have called about 5 other agencies including the fire dept all of which were unable to assist. Native ARC was the first group to actually come out and even assess the situation. We decided that the only reasonable way to get the bird down was to cut the branch that he was on, thereby bringing him down with it. Oh!!! Did I mention this 20ft tree turned out to be a 60ft tree with the bird almost all the way at the top. Big ladder?

NATIVE ARC ANIMAL RESCUE

The caller must have been a Freo Dockers supporter with no experience in climbing ladders! We didn't originally plan on cutting the tree down and had no such equipment so we had to call reinforcements. Diane came to our rescue and brought a variety of tree cutting devices. Although to be honest, Cavemen had better tools twenty thousand years ago than what we were blessed with in this rescue. Diane and Alex cleared the path to make sure no one was under the tree if and when the branch came down and I was given the glorious task of climbing this "mother" of all trees. So when I eventually made it to the top and rested my foot between a leaf and a twig I began sawing away at this branch. In hindsight I would have been better off using a butter knife. The saw was that blunt it should have been a judge on Australian Idol. Eventually when I had no feeling left in either arm and the sun was setting the tree branch decided to give way.

The branch fell to the floor and thankfully the thick foliage acted as a cushion for the bird and he didn't even touch the floor. Alex ran over and threw his hat over the Corella whilst Diane cut a small piece of branch off the tree so we could transport the bird. We gave the Corella some emergency pain relief and transferred back to Native ARC. After quickly assessing the injuries the Corella had a dislocated pelvis and badly broken leg. It was severely dehydrated and was suffering heat exhaustion as well as shock. We felt it was a kinder option to take the bird to the vet for immediate euthanasia. Unfortunately after all our efforts we were unable to save the bird. However, we were able to ensure he didn't spend the next 12 hours or more in a tree slowly dying painfully of exhaustion and dehydration. May he or she rest in peace. The moral of this story...there is a way around every rescue!

COOKIE THE KOOKABURRA

Late last year Native ARC received a phone call regarding a baby bird. The rescuer was unsure of what it was however they suspected it may be a dove. Upon arrival at Native ARC, volunteers identified the bird as a nestling kookaburra, approximately 1 week old. The kookaburra was kept at Native ARC for rearing. The little bird, nicknamed cookie by some of the volunteers, grew and grew at lightning speed. It was hard to recognise the bird from one day to the next. Fed on a variety of foods including pinky mice dipped in calcium, furred mice, king mealworms and the occasional meatball, Cookie did nothing but thrive. At 4 weeks of age Cookie was lucky enough to find a suitable room mate who was able to teach him a few life lessons. A juvenile kookaburra a couple of weeks older than Cookie was admitted and was a blessing for little Cookie as he was able to teach him a few skills in self-feeding later on as well as reminding him that he was in fact, a kookaburra! Initially there were some territorial issues but that soon settled down and the two have been best mates ever since. At 6 weeks of age Cookie was old enough to go into an outside enclosure and learn to fly and live with other kookaburras. Cookie is currently in a pre-release aviary with his mate and the pair are due for release.

A BELLY FULL

Early this year Native ARC admitted a rather large turtle that was found with no injuries however very lethargic. Volunteers could not determine the cause of her ailment. Animal Care Coordinator Dean Huxley assessed the turtle and after a quick palpation and examination, suspected that the turtle may be gravid (pregnant). A visit to the vet and an x-ray confirmed the female was in fact gravid with 13 eggs! The poor thing was just about ready to lay her eggs and was unfortunately rescued by a well-meaning member of the public. Had she been left where she was she could have laid her eggs and returned to water. The stress of capture and confinement in captivity meant the female would not lay her eggs. The turtle was transferred to Perth Zoo where she was set up in a natural environment and monitored by zoo vets. Five days later, she laid all 13 eggs and was returned to the wild. The eggs were incubated and hatched by zoo staff and will be released later in the year. X-ray of female. Notice the white rings in her abdomen. These are the eggs.
VOLUNTEER PROFILE ELAINE YOUNG

How long have you been at Native ARC? 5 Years How did you become involved? I originally rescued a bobtail from my back garden. I didnt even know Native ARC existed I always assumed it was someones house. I made a few calls and found out I could take it to Native ARC. Almost as soon as I walked in the door I was asked would I like to volunteer and so I did.

VOLUNTEER PROFILE ELAINE YOUNG

How many shifts do you work per week? I work 3 shifts. All day Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. What do you do on your shifts? The normal stuff really. I do all the daily feeding and cleaning. If they need extra help in the hospital I will help with the baby birds and admissions. I like mentoring the new volunteers when they first start. I do all the weekly food orders such as the bird seeds, supplements, mice, mince and mealworms etc. I also do a lot of vet visits and pick-ups/rescues. What is the most memorable moment at Native ARC? Thats a tough one as I have a lot of great moments. I suppose I always think about a bobtail that we couldnt get to self-feed and I persisted by spoon feeding it until eventually he ate off the spoon. I have a lot of memories of rescues also. What is the most memorable animal you have seen at Native ARC? Funnily enough the bobtails (laughs). I have quite a soft spot for bobtails and I always chose to work with them. If someone asked me to hold a bobtail or a bird I would always pick the bobtail. The kangaroo joeys are special also they are just such special little animals. How has Native ARC changed over the years? There are a lot more procedures and protocols which is great. We run a lot of training these days which I really enjoy coming to. We seem to work more with other wildlife centres and groups. We have become much more efficient and have come a long way in the past few years. What would you like to see happen to Native ARC in the future? Roe Highway not going through would be great. I would love to see bigger enclosures for our ducklings and turtles in stage 3

NEW ENCLOSURES OPEN

On November 14th 2012, Native ARCS Bandicoot and Raptor enclosures were launched and officially opened. The new enclosures which are designed to hold up to 6 quendas and 4 raptors, were designed based on specialist advice. The enclosures have been put to great use with a sudden influx of birds of prey and quendas almost immediately after the launch.

FACEBOOK UPDATE

Native Arc has established a Facebook Page. We have commenced actively posting news stories, updates and more. Facebook is an essential tool for Native Arc to share the good work of our volunteers and to engage the public in the promotion of wildlife rehabilitation. Please make sure you Like Us and Share with your friends and family! http://www.facebook.com/NativeArcInc