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| ‘I sort of fell apart’: black summer bushfires’ toll on the vets and carers helping Australian wildlife | ‘I sort of fell apart’: black summer bushfires’ toll on the vets and carers helping Australian wildlife |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| They spent their lives and careers looking after animals and when the 2019-20 fires erupted they responded on the front lines. Veterinarians and carers recall those months – and the impact it has had since | They spent their lives and careers looking after animals and when the 2019-20 fires erupted they responded on the front lines. Veterinarians and carers recall those months – and the impact it has had since |
| The day before the fire front hit, the forest fell deadly silent. Normally, says wildlife carer Susie Pulis, “if you are driving or walking in the bush it’s nothing but chitter chatter. There’s lots and lots of noise, all the different bird life and insects and everything buzzing around.” But this was different. “The birds had gone.” | The day before the fire front hit, the forest fell deadly silent. Normally, says wildlife carer Susie Pulis, “if you are driving or walking in the bush it’s nothing but chitter chatter. There’s lots and lots of noise, all the different bird life and insects and everything buzzing around.” But this was different. “The birds had gone.” |
| Pulis and her son were scouting for animals before the fires hit. “We could see the fire in the distance, we could see the flames. | Pulis and her son were scouting for animals before the fires hit. “We could see the fire in the distance, we could see the flames. |
| “It was like an atomic bomb mushroom.” | “It was like an atomic bomb mushroom.” |
| She knew it was going to be catastrophic for the animals. | She knew it was going to be catastrophic for the animals. |
| The fire at Bairnsdale, Victoria, was so intense and dynamic that it created its own weather patterns, forming thunderstorms kilometres ahead, with lightning strikes that were igniting new fires. It would burn for nearly four months. | The fire at Bairnsdale, Victoria, was so intense and dynamic that it created its own weather patterns, forming thunderstorms kilometres ahead, with lightning strikes that were igniting new fires. It would burn for nearly four months. |
| “The damage was horrific” Pulis says. “It was like walking on the moon. There was just not a blade of anything left, the trees were black matchsticks. The ground was really, really thick ash, it was so unstable. You just can’t fathom it.” | “The damage was horrific” Pulis says. “It was like walking on the moon. There was just not a blade of anything left, the trees were black matchsticks. The ground was really, really thick ash, it was so unstable. You just can’t fathom it.” |
| In December 2019, in many parts of Australia, the sky turned black. In the following weeks, unprecedented bushfires killed 33 people, destroyed thousands of homes, killed about 3 billion animals and razed 24m hectares of wildlife habitat. For those who devote their lives to caring for animals, these days will never be forgotten. | In December 2019, in many parts of Australia, the sky turned black. In the following weeks, unprecedented bushfires killed 33 people, destroyed thousands of homes, killed about 3 billion animals and razed 24m hectares of wildlife habitat. For those who devote their lives to caring for animals, these days will never be forgotten. |
| In the days before help arrived, wildlife carer Sue Johns at Mallacoota had a lounge room full of koalas burnt by the fires – “koalas everywhere”. But for Pulis there were few survivors. “Things like the rednecked wallaby and Bennett’s wallaby were basically wiped out.” | In the days before help arrived, wildlife carer Sue Johns at Mallacoota had a lounge room full of koalas burnt by the fires – “koalas everywhere”. But for Pulis there were few survivors. “Things like the rednecked wallaby and Bennett’s wallaby were basically wiped out.” |
| Dr Jade Hammer, a vet at the Main Street veterinary clinic at Bairnsdale, says the heat of the fire killed thousands of ground animals. If the fires were low, koalas could climb higher up a tree if the canopy was still intact; but Hammer treated many of these survivors for smoke inhalation. “The smoke was so thick that quite a lot of animals were coming in with respiratory distress.” | Dr Jade Hammer, a vet at the Main Street veterinary clinic at Bairnsdale, says the heat of the fire killed thousands of ground animals. If the fires were low, koalas could climb higher up a tree if the canopy was still intact; but Hammer treated many of these survivors for smoke inhalation. “The smoke was so thick that quite a lot of animals were coming in with respiratory distress.” |
| Vets are not paid to treat wildlife. But Hammer and his colleagues kept working, even when they didn’t know if their own houses had survived. They worked long hours for months looking after native and nonnative species, including cattle. “They would appear OK initially but their hooves were burnt. Later, the hooves would fall off so [the cattle] needed to be euthanised.” | Vets are not paid to treat wildlife. But Hammer and his colleagues kept working, even when they didn’t know if their own houses had survived. They worked long hours for months looking after native and nonnative species, including cattle. “They would appear OK initially but their hooves were burnt. Later, the hooves would fall off so [the cattle] needed to be euthanised.” |
| The work of vets and wildlife carers did not end when the fire front passed; many animals perished in the fires, but many others survived with injuries and faced food and water shortages and loss of habitat, at least for a while. | The work of vets and wildlife carers did not end when the fire front passed; many animals perished in the fires, but many others survived with injuries and faced food and water shortages and loss of habitat, at least for a while. |
| Marcie Lash, a vet nurse who was deployed to the fires near Cooma in NSW by Vets Beyond Borders, says: “A lot of animals survive for weeks and weeks with very little.” They are not doing very well by the time you find them.” | Marcie Lash, a vet nurse who was deployed to the fires near Cooma in NSW by Vets Beyond Borders, says: “A lot of animals survive for weeks and weeks with very little.” They are not doing very well by the time you find them.” |
| During search and rescue efforts, the level of fear among the animals made things “very difficult”, she says. | During search and rescue efforts, the level of fear among the animals made things “very difficult”, she says. |
| “You have to remember, we’re dealing with wild animals,” Lash says. “The search and rescue [team] I was involved in was using a sedation method. The people, at least, knew what was coming and that was terrifying. The animals didn’t know what was coming and maybe that was more terrifying.” | “You have to remember, we’re dealing with wild animals,” Lash says. “The search and rescue [team] I was involved in was using a sedation method. The people, at least, knew what was coming and that was terrifying. The animals didn’t know what was coming and maybe that was more terrifying.” |
| Mostly, they were dealing with koalas, kangaroos and echidnas. Nobody really knows how the slow-moving echidnas survived, Lash says, but perhaps by sharing burrows. | Mostly, they were dealing with koalas, kangaroos and echidnas. Nobody really knows how the slow-moving echidnas survived, Lash says, but perhaps by sharing burrows. |
| Wildlife carer Joanne Rossi says kangaroos and animals that managed to outrun the fires would return to their habitat while the ground was still too hot. “There were quite a lot of eastern greys that had burns on their legs and tails.” | Wildlife carer Joanne Rossi says kangaroos and animals that managed to outrun the fires would return to their habitat while the ground was still too hot. “There were quite a lot of eastern greys that had burns on their legs and tails.” |
| The kangaroos she had rescued, rehabilitated and released over the years often came back to show her their joeys. But after the fires, some of them never came back. | The kangaroos she had rescued, rehabilitated and released over the years often came back to show her their joeys. But after the fires, some of them never came back. |
| Kimberly Vinette Herrin, a veterinarian officer at Taronga Zoo, arrived in Bairnsdale 10 days after the first fires, deployed to work there by the RSPCA. “We saw hundreds and hundreds of koalas and some reptiles. The koalas mostly had burns on their paws or their nose areas. Some had pretty bad burns, deep third-degree burns. Ten to 13 koalas would be coming in every day. The army would bring them in trucks and drop them off.” | Kimberly Vinette Herrin, a veterinarian officer at Taronga Zoo, arrived in Bairnsdale 10 days after the first fires, deployed to work there by the RSPCA. “We saw hundreds and hundreds of koalas and some reptiles. The koalas mostly had burns on their paws or their nose areas. Some had pretty bad burns, deep third-degree burns. Ten to 13 koalas would be coming in every day. The army would bring them in trucks and drop them off.” |
| Vinette Herrin is used to dealing with sick animals, emergency situations and triage. “It was ‘Let’s get on with it and see what we can do to save these animals’.” | Vinette Herrin is used to dealing with sick animals, emergency situations and triage. “It was ‘Let’s get on with it and see what we can do to save these animals’.” |
| “What was really confronting was seeing the landscape, just seeing that there were tops of trees and nothing on the ground, it was all just burnt, black and ashen. And then to get the animals and just imagining how they had been up in a tree seeking a haven.” | “What was really confronting was seeing the landscape, just seeing that there were tops of trees and nothing on the ground, it was all just burnt, black and ashen. And then to get the animals and just imagining how they had been up in a tree seeking a haven.” |
| The koalas, she says, were good patients. They would be given pain relief, and adapted well. “Give them a bunch of eucalyptus leaves and they were like, ‘This is good, I’ve got something fresh to eat. It’s better than it was.’” | The koalas, she says, were good patients. They would be given pain relief, and adapted well. “Give them a bunch of eucalyptus leaves and they were like, ‘This is good, I’ve got something fresh to eat. It’s better than it was.’” |
| People who had lost their homes would visit the koalas, Vinette Herrin remembers. “They would say, ‘Hey, we’re in the same boat. Your homes have been destroyed too.’ They had shared their homes with the wildlife.” | |
| No one who was there, treating injured and dying animals, walked away without being deeply affected. Vinette Herrin found it exhausting and emotional. “You don’t realise how much it is taking out of you.” | No one who was there, treating injured and dying animals, walked away without being deeply affected. Vinette Herrin found it exhausting and emotional. “You don’t realise how much it is taking out of you.” |
| It wasn’t until a nurse from Taronga zoo came to replace her “that I sort of fell apart. I had a full-on cry. The impact hit me. Even the fact that this smoke was [circumnavigating] the globe, it was just unbelievable. It was a bit of a shot that was heard around the world. It is still hard to fathom, to be honest. I don’t think I have actually dealt with the impact.” | |
| Initially, Marcie Lash was propelled by a feeling that at least she was doing something. “I’m helping,” she says. “But afterwards the things you see when you are out there and the amount of damage that occurred, you need to be able to switch off to be able to continue your work. It definitely sits with you for quite some time. | Initially, Marcie Lash was propelled by a feeling that at least she was doing something. “I’m helping,” she says. “But afterwards the things you see when you are out there and the amount of damage that occurred, you need to be able to switch off to be able to continue your work. It definitely sits with you for quite some time. |
| “Even today it is something that I think, unless you’re there on the ground, it is really hard to imagine the amount of destruction that occurred. And when you get to an area that typically would have birds singing and animals … even invertebrates like ants, to see an area that has none of that makes you feel very small.” | “Even today it is something that I think, unless you’re there on the ground, it is really hard to imagine the amount of destruction that occurred. And when you get to an area that typically would have birds singing and animals … even invertebrates like ants, to see an area that has none of that makes you feel very small.” |
| “There are definitely reminders all the time,” says Hammer. | “There are definitely reminders all the time,” says Hammer. |
| Just before Christmas a bonfire got out of control in his area. “It reminds the community of the danger that we are constantly in, particularly on 40-degree days like we had before Christmas. We haven’t had heat like that since the period of the bushfires.” | Just before Christmas a bonfire got out of control in his area. “It reminds the community of the danger that we are constantly in, particularly on 40-degree days like we had before Christmas. We haven’t had heat like that since the period of the bushfires.” |
| For most people, the trauma doesn’t go away, he says. | For most people, the trauma doesn’t go away, he says. |
| “There are certainly a lot of things that trigger those memories, whether it is heatwaves or the smell of smoke – all sorts of things.” | “There are certainly a lot of things that trigger those memories, whether it is heatwaves or the smell of smoke – all sorts of things.” |
| Those who were there – wrapping burnt feet, treating creatures with mouths blackened by smoke, euthanising endangered animals – learned something they cannot forget: the animals are just so vulnerable. | Those who were there – wrapping burnt feet, treating creatures with mouths blackened by smoke, euthanising endangered animals – learned something they cannot forget: the animals are just so vulnerable. |
| “I never want to go through that again,” says Rossi. “It was a lot of trauma. It was pretty traumatic to see all those animals suffer and think of what we could have done or would have done differently if we had our time again.” | “I never want to go through that again,” says Rossi. “It was a lot of trauma. It was pretty traumatic to see all those animals suffer and think of what we could have done or would have done differently if we had our time again.” |
| “You can’t let it drag you down,” she says. | “You can’t let it drag you down,” she says. |
| “That was the main issue – we felt helpless. We have all these people with knowledge, carers and vets and things like that, we’ve got all that knowledge and we couldn’t help. So, yeah, that’s a hard part.” | “That was the main issue – we felt helpless. We have all these people with knowledge, carers and vets and things like that, we’ve got all that knowledge and we couldn’t help. So, yeah, that’s a hard part.” |