If you think having the odd possum in your roof or koala up your backyard gum tree is living in harmony with nature, think again. Retired librarian and mother-of-five, Annie Fraser, has been a wildlife carer in Victoria’s southwest for at least the last 40 years. She recalls a time when she had nine penguins, two of kangaroos and a possum staying at her house all at the same time!
“My role as a wildlife carer down here became a formally registered position around 1975, but I’d been caring for wildlife unofficially for years before then,” Annie said. “I grew up with a love of animals and the environment. I used to collect spiders, beetles, caterpillars and creatures like that. When my brother was two I gave him a Redback spider to play with. Mum didn’t like it because it bit him!”
Later in life, Annie got married and had kids and she passed that love of all things native on to them. “When they were young, my children would bring home sick or injured baby blackbirds and possums and I used to look after them.”
Annie recalls tucking her youngest daughter Julie into bed one night, when there was a knock at the front door. It was a local farmer’s wife, holding a wooden crate with a tiny Joey inside. “His mum was hit by a car,” the woman said, pleading with Annie to care for the injured babe.
Caring for Sick and Injured Native Wildlife
From that time onward, the calls to care for sick and injured native animals came flowing in. Everything from sick possum babies to koalas with Chlamydia, penguins entangled in fishing wire and even rare birds like albatrosses would be delivered to her front door… or she’d be called out to go and rescue them.
With five kids and a houseful of animals, things got pretty hectic at times but her late husband Bill was very supportive. “He loved animals as much as I did and the kids were raised with them, slept with them, fed them and grew up learning about and loving them too. My colleagues didn’t seem to mind either; I worked at the local high school as a librarian and it wasn’t unusual for me to have a possum in my bra or a Joey in a bag under the desk.”
A lot of the rules and regulations have changed over the years to better protect wildlife and more than 35 years on, Annie is still volunteering alongside the many hundreds of new registered wildlife foster carers in the state, bringing sick and injured wildlife into her home for shelter, food and some good old tender loving care.
“People still jokingly call me ‘the local white witch’ and others say I’m the ‘Dinosaur of Wildlife Victoria’,” she said, laughing. Her kids often ask her when she plans on retiring from caring. “I can’t answer that question,” she says. “I don’t think I could live without animals of some sort.”
Future Climate Change
Arguably, humans will continue to drive future climate change, with potentially catastrophic consequences on the planet’s natural environment and wildlife in the future – and native wildlife species around the world are already suffering. Thankfully there are some humans out there like Annie doing what they can to protect animals and enhance the natural environment for future generations.
“The most challenging aspect of the job is certainly educating people: educating people to have respect for wildlife and educating them on the uniqueness of the wildlife in Australia. A lot of people are very indifferent about native animals in Australia. This attitude needs to change and I hope it does, before it’s too late.”
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