Rosella Rescued In Harden

Just like the heroes on those shows we love to watch on the telly, Harden’s firefighters do more than just fight fires.

They recently helped rescue a juvenile corella tangled in fishing line and dangling high above Chinamans Dam in Young.

Sandra Latham, who coordinates the Wildcare for Young and surrounding areas received a call from a friend telling her about a corella that was in a bad way recently.

“I got a call from my friend to say there was a corella hanging very high up from a tree over a dam,” Ms Latham said.

“I called my supervisor and she asked me to go and assess the situation.The police in Young were also called and they couldn’t find it.”

When Ms Latham arrived they still hadn’t found the bird so she called her friend who gave her specific directions, and they found the corella at the end of the car park dangling from a dead tree.

They attempted to rescue the bird for 15 to 20 minutes before the fire brigade came out from Harden to assist.

“The first guys weren’t sure what we could do because it was so high up,” Ms Latham said. “It was six o’clock at night.”

Ms Latham said they tried attaching a spanner to the end of a rope and throwing over the branch, but it was too high and the tool was too heavy. In the end, after about an hour of trying, they attached something a little lighter to the end of the rope. The bird came flapping down into the water.

“I walked down with my gloves on,” Ms Latham said.

“One of the young firefighters came to help me. It had a hook in one of its wings. We got it into a cage and I took it to one of our carers. The carer took it to the vet the next morning and it was okay to be released that day.”

Ms Latham said she has had experience with pelicans, ducks and swans being caught up in fishing line and hooks and urged people to be careful with their fishing gear to ensure it doesn’t pose a safety risk to a native wildlife.”

“It can be difficult to rescue them because they are water mobile even though they’re caught up,” she said.

“There are a couple of volunteers around the Young area who help with injured wildlife.

“We would love more volunteers, but it is a lot of work. It’s quite an expensive hobby. I’ve been doing it for 21 years. I do everything but snakes.”

If you come across an injured native animal, give Wildcare a call on 6299 1966.

Wildcare is a volunteer organisation and receives no funding from government or non-government sources.

• Topics:

• Pets & Animals