Media Releases

WIRES is warning that thousands of flying-foxes are expected to perish over the next week as temperatures across Australia continue to soar.

WIRES NSW flying-fox coordinator Storm Stanford said colonies across the Eastern states have been under stress for months due to ongoing food shortage and drought. Mass deaths have already occurred in Northern and Southern NSW.

With drought-stressed eucalypts producing little or no nectar or not flowering at all, flying-foxes have vacated many established colonies and flown south in search of food or to escape the bushfires. read more

As bushfires rage across NSW on the back of the worst drought in decades our native animals are being severely impacted through lost habitat, starvation and displacement.

More than ever WIRES needs help to rehabilitate the unprecedented number of native animals coming into care as a result of these terrible natural disasters and is asking the public to give their support with a Christmas donation to the WIRES Emergency Fund  (all gifts $2 and over are tax deductible). read more

WIRES is receiving numerous calls from concerned members of the public across NSW regarding the fate of our wildlife in the bushfire areas, along with many requests of how to help. 

WIRES volunteers are on standby to enter fire grounds once the RFS and National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS) declare an area safe to access, however this can take up to three weeks after a fire has passed through. WIRES commends its dedicated volunteers who continue to rescue injured wildlife in these treacherous conditions and thanks the Rural Fire Service members who patrol many of the potential hot spots making sure WIRES volunteers stay safe. read more

A Little Penguin has had a lucky escape after falling from the sky at Walkers Beach, Gerroa, near Kiama on the NSW south coast. read more

A number of adult and juvenile kangaroos have been run over in what police are considering a deliberate act of cruelty in Tura Beach, near Merimbula on the NSW South Coast. WIRES Far South East member Janine Green was alerted to the incident when police knocked on her door at 1:30am on Sunday night, holding a surviving joey. read more

Have you seen a flying-fox recently in the daytime in a tree? Or found one dead on the ground?

Large areas of the North Coast of NSW as well as South East Queensland are experiencing what appears to be a severe flying-fox starvation and dehydration event. It is thought that the unusually dry conditions have affected flowering and fruiting of their usual feed trees. Moisture content on foliage is currently very low, fruit and flowers also lack the normal amount of moisture and this is where bats get their nutrition and hydration. read more

With such terrible fires sweeping across NSW and Queensland, WIRES are very aware of the tragic toll on wildlife. In the event of a major fire, the unfortunate reality is that the majority of wildlife in the immediate area of the fire, those which are unable to escape, generally perish. read more

Rail travellers were treated to a rare sight on the Hornsby to Penrith line recently when a pair of ringtail possums were discovered quietly napping on board. 

Local WIRES volunteers Tracy Burgess and Kylie Canilleri were called to the rescue at 9.45am on a Sunday morning following a report of possums on a train heading for the Blue Mountains. 

The train had already left Central and scheduled to stop at at all stations from Parramatta to Penrith where it was due to arrive at 11.02am. WIRES was advised that once it arrived, there was only a 15 minute window of opportunity to contain the four-legged joy-riders before the train was scheduled to depart for the Blue Mountains. read more

A Green Sea Turtle has died in care after being found in a freshwater, man-made lake in Bella Vista, in Sydney’s west, over 30km inland from the Tasman Sea. read more