Tweed Valley Wildlife Carers

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Tomasina's Rescue

Grey-headed Flying-fox

Late one Thursday afternoon we got a call about a flying-fox alone in a tree. We dashed there before we lost the daylight, and strained our eyes searching a huge Melaleuca tree. It wasn't until the callers, avid bird watchers, pointed out a tiny body about 15 metres up at the very top that we saw her.

Training our binoculars we looked for signs of life. Finally she twisted in the opposite direction to the wind so we knew she was alive, but it was getting dark fast. Our rescue gear only reaches to 5 metres so she was right out of our range ... we needed help. We had to leave her there and hope she would fly off in the night.

First thing in the morning we went back. She hadn't moved ... this was not good.

Lying on the ground so we could keep the binoculars steady on her it was ten minutes before there was any movement at all. We rang in to Helen, TVWC President, who was 'manning' the 24 hour hotline and she launched a rescue mission trying to find someone that could help.

Hours of ringing around, and unwilling to give up, she managed to convince Country Energy to send a cherry picker out. Unfortunately the cherry picker wasn't tall enough either and after much scratching of heads we were on our own again. We would have had better luck if we were trying to rescue a kitten or domestic animal.

Knowing there was no way we could climb the tree, much as we wanted to, another night passed.
Day 3 and all the hours of ringing around fruitless and still the little body hanging out of reach.

Then Helen rang with some excellent news. Tom Wardlaw, an arbourist from Burringbar, who was an ex-member of TVWC, was willing to climb up after her.

He arrived in quick time with his climbing gear. In a matter of moments he had scampered up the tree with spikes and ropes. He got himself in position and we passed up an extendable net. She was scooped up and in our hands in moments ... Yay!

She was given a big drink, and a quick check up revealed there was only a small injury to her foot and leg, and a tiny hole in her wing - nothing significant. We suspect she had been trapped by something and she exhausted herself getting free.

We won't forget the helpless feeling when there seemed to be no help for her and the relief when Tom came to help.

We called her Tomasina, after her rescuer, and she is now in care, recovering from her injuries.