Among those evacuated during Wednesday’s bushfires were 45 flying foxes in care at Bomaderry.
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Wildlife Rescue South Coast volunteer Janine Davies was at work, when she was told to leave and return to her home at 11am.
READ MORE: Bushfires in Ulladulla, Shoalhaven, NSW
Ms Davies said Wednesday started like a normal, regular day.
“I left work, which is out near Albatross, came home and started to pack the flying foxes into smaller cages,” she said.
“More people arrived to help, we used a catching pole to put up against the ceiling, it has a basket on the end, so someone gets up a ladder, uses a wrap, grabs them, brings them down and puts them into another cage.
“The whole process of catching the flying foxes, putting them into the cages and packing everything up into the cars took about two hours.
“We didn’t have time to be worried, it was just a matter of getting in and getting everything that we needed. I just grabbed all the bat related things.
“It was approximately 450 metres from my back boundary, if the wind had changed it could have come closer, so I made the decision to move them just in case, because it’s not something you could do at the last minute.”
Ms Davies said the flying foxes knew something was wrong.
“They were stressed, they can tell, they’ve got a very heightened sense of smell, they would have known the fire was around before us,” she said.
Wildlife Rescue South Coast has already taken injured wildlife into care as a result of the fires on the South Coast, however it could take weeks for other injured animals to emerge from bushland.
“We’ve had two ringtail possums brought in, one was an injured mother with two little bubs on board and her feet are burnt, and also a little boy, who’s not looking too good,” Ms Davies said.
“Unfortunately I think we would have lost a lot because the animals get stuck in the trees and they can’t move
“We’ve had lots of members of the public contact us offering their help, which is great.”
The ‘bat squad’ consisted of Chris Carter, Anne Cherry, Kay Matthews, Trista Kyriakou and Susan Kerr.
“Without their help, I wouldn’t have managed the evacuation and subsequent return home in such a timely manner,” Ms Davies said.
The volunteer group also wished to thank the police for their help getting through the barricade points, so they could transport the flying foxes.
If you find injured wildlife or would like to become a volunteer, contact Wildlife Rescue South Coast on 0418 427 214.
