A rare albino echidna was rescued from the roadside in Nerriga, and taken to Falls Creek, into the care of South Coast Wildlife Rescue volunteer, Belinda Gales last week.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In 20 years of volunteering to protect and rescue all native animals, this is the first time she has laid eyes on an albino echidna.
One in 17,000 have the condition which makes them more prone to cancer, and less likely to find a mate.
“It’s such a lucky rescue, a wonderful man found this little guy trying to scramble up an embankment bordered by a concrete slab, so this little guy or girl had no chance of getting back to the bush safely,” Belinda said.
“He parked his car, carefully tried to pick this one up, which as he found was quite difficult.”
Unfortunately, being an albino, the echidna may have reduced visibility, so Belinda will ensure its vision is fine, and run through a number of health checks before it’s released back into the bush.
If you come across an echidna near a road, the advice is to help it across the road and into the bush. If it has been injured, you may need a big blanket to lift it up, and place it in a big tub in your car, so it is unable to burrow down.
