Injured Wildlife: What can I do to help?

If you find a sick or injured animal, contact the RSPCA’s hotline on 1300 ANIMAL (264 625).

Our RSPCA Animal Emergency Hotline has team members available to answer your call between 7am and 7pm, 365 days a year!

We can offer you real-time advice over the phone, and our RSPCA Rescue Team may be able to attend the area in one of our Rescue Vehicles if equipped and in your area.

We all want to jump in and help rescue an injured animal ourselves. But the following animal rescues should be left to the expert wildlife handlers:

• Koalas
• Adult Kangaroos and Wallabies
• Bats
• Birds of Prey (eg. Raptors)
• Snakes
• Large Lizards (eg. Goannas, Lace Monitors)
• Crocodiles
• Cassowaries

Generally, if it has claws, a bitey face or a horned head... call for help instead.

If you find an injured or sick animal, find a safe place to pull your vehicle off to the side of the road and put on your hazard lights.

Safely and carefully approach the animal and observe from a distance the condition it’s in. Report the animal to 1300 ANIMAL or your local wildlife group who can advise next steps.

If the animal has a pouch, please check for young.

Call 1300 ANIMAL or your local wildlife group for assistance over the phone if you find young in need of help. If there are no young in the pouch, scan the area for young that may have been separated from a deceased or injured animal. Read more about the importance of pouch checking.

If you come across a deceased animal, contact your local council to remove the body from the roadside.

Tip: Seen a deceased animal on the roadside marked with spray paint? This means a wildlife rescuer has checked the pouch.

If bitten by a snake, apply the pressure immobilisation technique and call 000 immediately.

If bitten by a bat of any kind, call Qld Health on 13 HEALTH (13432584) immediately for advice.

For other bites apply first aid as required or call HEALTH (13432584).

• You can help minimise stress to an injured animal by keeping pets and people away and if safe, containing it by placing a box or a basket over them.
• Do not offer the injured animal food or water.
• Do not care for the animal yourself. Wildlife have specific dietary and housing requirements and should only ever be cared for by a permitted wildlife carer.

When you call our RSPCA Animal Emergency Hotline 1300 ANIMAL, or a local wildlife rescue group, we can offer you advice over the phone.

Our RSPCA team will take your details and find the most appropriate and available rescuer to contact you to advise when they can attend and what you can do to help in the meantime.

• An address or the closest address to the injured animal.
• GPS coordinates.
• A description of where the injured animal is (eg just past the 60kmh road sign), which side of a road and the direction of travel.
• If you have to leave the area, try and leave a marker near the animal (eg towel or ribbon in a tree).

Tip: Knowing where an animal is found is very important, not only for rescue crews to assist, but also once that animal has been treated and rehabilitated. This way, wildlife carers and our RSPCA team know where the animal can be released back into the wild.

If it’s safe to do so and you are comfortable, try and contain the animal by picking it up with a thick towel and placing it into a suitable container (cardboard box etc). Ensure that you cover the mouth/beak and claws of the animal. You should only do this with animals like possums, gliders, bandicoots, small to medium sized birds and small lizards.

Be careful of your eyes when handling birds with long beaks and keep them away from your face. It pays to put a pair of safety glasses in your car for these types of emergencies.

Keep the animal warm and take them to your nearest vet, the RSPCA Wildlife Hospital in Brisbane, or contact your local wildlife rescue group for assistance.

Injured and sick domestic animals and wildlife can be taken to your nearest after hours vet clinic.

• Keep a wildlife rescue kit in your car. It's better to be prepared and those items could help you transport an animal in need.
• Volunteer! Become an RSPCA Wildlife Responder. Did you know you can become a volunteer in your area and help rescue and release wildlife in your community?

• Do you know that you’re more likely to encounter wildlife on our road at dawn and dusk? Read our tips on how to avoid wildlife on the road when driving.
• In the warmer months, cases of Lorikeet and Flying Fox Paralysis Syndrome increase. That means you may encounter sick birds or bats that are unable to fly. Read what to look for and how to help with Lorikeet Paralysis Syndrome.
• Did you know that possums can suffer from dermatitis? If left untreated it can be deadly for our tree dwellers… Here’s how to help and what to look for if you find a sick possum.
• Snakes are more active in warmer weather so you may spot them on the road, in your home, in the backyard, and sometimes even in cars and engine bays! Read more on what to do if you encounter a snake.
• Spring is the time for protective, swooping birds to be out and about. But there are ways to avoid being swooped by magpies and plovers. Read our blog.
• Everyone loves taking a dip in a pool in summer… but not our wildlife! If you have a pool, animals like bandicoots, lizards and koalas can accidentally fall into your pool. Here are ways you can help wildlife escape your pool.
• Spring means baby birds are out and about and learning to fly. If you spot one on the ground, they don’t all need to be rescued. Found a baby bird? Learn what to do.
• In the heat of summer our wildlife need water too. You can help by leaving out containers of water for our birds, reptiles and more. But don’t forget to leave a rock or stick in the container so any animals drinking or taking a bath, can get back out again. Ensure your water sources are fresh and changed regularly to avoid becoming mosquito breeding grounds!
• If you have possums trying to take up residence in your home, garage or shed, you can help by making possum boxes. You’ll be helping our possums find more suitable housing in the land clearing crisis!
• If you have fruit trees in your backyard and are using netting to protect your crop, you need to read this! Did you know that some fruit tree netting is harmful to our wildlife? Some varieties can cause tangles and death for our animals. Learn which fruit tree netting is wildlife-safe.