Weelam Wildlife Shelter

28/04/2025

Hey everyone, this will be my last post on Facebook: a plea for support of our local wildlife!

Please sign my petition which has been updated to reflect the urgency as council contractors continue massacring our important street trees:

https://chng.it/6Q4pZVCxmD

You can find Weelam Wildlife Shelter on Instagram -
https://www.instagram.com/weelamwildlifeshelter

Thank you to those who have followed and supported me on this platform.♥️🙏🏻

26/04/2025

Today we celebrate the heroes behind the scenes - our vets - especially those dedicated to wildlife.

Their skill, compassion, and tireless dedication help give injured and orphaned wildlife a second chance.
And we’re endlessly grateful for them

Happy World Vet Day!

24/04/2025

🌳Help Save Our Trees – Sign the Petition!🌳

Imagine if all the people who follow this page signed!

Our local nature strip trees are under threat from excessive pruning in the name of “safety,” and it’s harming the very heart of our community.

These trees provide shelter, food, and vital green space for wildlife, including possums, birds, insects, and other native species that need our support. But they also improve our air quality, reduce heat, and create a healthier, happier environment for all of us—humans and animals alike.

You don’t need to live in our town to make a difference. If you believe in preserving green spaces for the future of our planet and wildlife, I’m asking for your support. Every signature counts, and together, we can protect these essential trees.

Please take a moment to sign and share the petition – we need to stand up for nature in our own backyard 🌿

Link in featured⬆️

Thank you to those who have already signed. ♥️🙏🏻

22/04/2025

Please sign my petition to immediately halt the ridiculous new pruning regime on The Mornington Peninsula - happening in my town as I type.
Apart from turning the streets ugly and bare, the wildlife need them.
I will no longer be able to care for possums if this continues, if indeed there are any left!

Link in featured above, or previous post.

Thank you🙏🏻

21/04/2025

Help Stop the Destruction of Our Street Trees.

I’ve started a petition to urge Mornington Peninsula Shire Council to stop the unnecessary clearing of healthy native trees from our streets—especially in Tootgarook and surrounding areas.

These trees provide vital food and shelter for local wildlife and pose no danger to roads or footpaths. The current approach is destroying habitat, with no replanting or environmental responsibility in sight.

If you care about our trees, wildlife, and the future of our local environment, please take a moment to sign and share the petition:

Every signature counts. Let’s speak up before it’s too late.
Thank you🙏🏻

Stop the Destruction of Native Street Trees in Tootgarook and Surrounding Areas

19/04/2025

“And so I wait. I wait for time to heal the pain and raise me to my feet once again—so that I can start a new path, my own path, the one that will make me whole again.”

— Jack Canfield

Look how far they’ve come! Some of you saw these on my insta story - too precious not to share.♥️

07/04/2025

“To heal is to touch with love that which we previously touched with fear.”

— Stephen Levine

After essential rehydration and a week to decompress, Carter and Lewis have now bonded with Dougie, and are much calmer, yet remain wary of me - which is not a bad thing.

They are my youngest and self feeding (before all the older possums) out of necessity, since they point blank refused the syringe, and handling them was just creating more stress.

The third photo shows the fear and stress response to being handled😢

It is not my job to tame them. It is my job to take care of, and nurture them, as their individual situation requires, while minimising stress, creating an environment that supports their healthy growth and development, and giving them the best chance of survival.

01/04/2025

“The fact that you can feel pain like this
is your greatest strength.”

- JK Rowling

Two young ringtail possums arrived this week, with separate stories, of which I do not know.

They are both, however, exhibiting behaviours conducive to having experienced trauma.
They are in the throws of fight-flight-freeze mode.

Did they witness their mumma taken by a cat, like Maeve and Mara? Was their home cut down from under them? Were they chased, predated upon?
- all likely and common scenarios.

Did the days in the vet clinic, surrounded by noise and the scent and sounds of predators, reinforce their trauma?
Most likely.

All that was written on Carter’s vet assessment, encased in large asterisks, was *bites*. 😢

Carter lost a lot of weight waiting for a carer, and by the time he arrived here, was severely dehydrated. And yes, he bares his teeth and shows his claws - tiny as they are - upon any interaction.
What would you do if you were so small and vulnerable, surrounded by predators, probably after witnessing unspeakable horrors?

Hopefully with lots of TLC, warmth, nourishment, and a quiet environment he will eventually relax.

His new brother, Lewis curls tightly in a ball, frozen in fear, in equally poor condition. For now they have each other, and in time they can join Dougie….
just need to get them feeding!🤞🏻

27/03/2025

Ringtail possums are unique.
They’re arboreal marsupials, full of mystique.

From the trees they climb, to the skies they touch,
Each one different, but they matter so much.

See their faces? The softest eyes,
Shining with wisdom, with a touch of surprise.

From the dark of night to the break of day,
Ringtails are important, in every way.

Ecology’s heartbeat, they’re keeping it alive,
In the web of life, they help us thrive.

They spread the seeds, they pollinate the ground,
Bringing balance, where it’s needed, where it’s found.

Different stages, different faces,
Without them, we’d lose our places.

Ringtail possums, please don’t pass them by,
They’re the pulse of the earth, the wings of the sky.

Important for biodiversity, don’t you see.
They’re essential to a world that’s wild and free.

It should be enough that their lives matter to them
For respect and protection, from the dangers of men.

21/03/2025

“To those who have always wondered how they might best serve the wider world, wildlife conservation is, at its core, one of the purest forms of giving.”

- Thomas Kaplan

Another day, another orphaned possum🥺

After a few days rehydrating and learning to take formula, Little Dougie has settled in and is doing well.

He sleeps with a teddy bear that has a heart beat, to comfort him after losing mum and his whole world.

Being social animals, ringtail possums normally share their dreys(nests) with many family members, so he’ll be paired up with other orphans soon.

Little Dougie is about five months old - ringtails typically leave the pouch around this time and are carried on Mum’s back….or dad’s.
Yep, dad helps out too, carrying the youngins while mum forages and feeds.

But at this time he would still be drinking mum’s milk for another month or so.
And, after weaning, he would stay with her until mature, another six to seven months.

In suburbia, conservation begins with leaving the trees, planting native shrubs/trees if you have space, and keeping your cat contained.

19/03/2025

“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.”
- Confucius

This week Crimson rosella, Tomas was released to live his life wild and free.

It’s been such a pleasure raising and caring for him - gorgeous, sweet bird♥️.

17/03/2025

Feathers shimmering, eyes full of grace,
A life on the water, a home, a space.
The wetlands, they whisper, the rivers, they sigh,
In the stillness, the birds swim, in silence they fly.
Not for the hunt, not for the fight,
But for the freedom, the dawn, and the night.
They don’t need our violence, they need our care,
A world where they soar without fear in the air.
So watch them glide, and let them be,
They deserve to be safe, wild and free.
🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆

Here are some beautiful souls I’ve had the privilege to care for. In two days time the abhorrent cruelty against ducks and water birds begins. In the name of ‘recreation’, vulnerable, innocent beings like these will be killed and maimed in their homes, by shooters partaking in yet another ‘duck season’ sanctioned once again by a gutless, corrupt Premier. Shame on you Jacinta Allan

To the rescuers, vets, and everyone on the frontline, you hold the broken wings and fractured hearts, you are the light in the dark.🙏🏻