How I Was Rescued

A Message from Russell...
You still want more? I'm safely back in the bush now, so my foster parents have continued to write for me. This page contains some additional information on me while I'm in the bush...

When we released Russell back into the Australian bush, we thought that we would not see, nor hear of him again. How wrong we were!

The Bad...

On Thursday November 29th, 2001 (approximately six weeks after releasing Russell), I had to send this horrible email through to friends and family...

Subject: Some terrible news.

Dear all,
 
It is with a heavy heart that I have to tell you that our recently released wombat, Russell, is dead from a motor vehicle accident.
 
Donna received a telephone call yesterday morning (Weds) from the carer who was monitoring Russell's transition back into the bush. She had found a wombat that matched Russell's description on the side of the road near her property. The wombat had received a massive head injury on the right side of the head, and appears to have died instantly from the vehicle. The skid marks on the road were a good 6m in length and it appears as if Russell was crossing the road away from the property when he was hit. He had ranged a good 4 to 5km from his burrow (a distance that most wombats travel in a night). It appears that Russell was probably hit in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
 
We went out to retrieve and identify the wombat yesterday afternoon. Russell had no distinguishing marks to tell of, but the general colour, condition and size of the body leads us to be 99% certain that it is indeed him. The other carer will be leaving out some food and checking the burrows that Russell used to frequent on her property just in case it isn't him - we hope against hope that he is still alive, but at this stage we believe that the dead wombat is Russell.
 
Russell was a special treasure in our lives. During the initial months that we had him, Donna struggled with him at times just to keep him alive, but with her persistence and dedication he managed to pull through. We can think that at least we gave him a short life where he would have had none if left with his dead mum. In the 18 month period where we had him, he was looked after, loved, fed and had a blissful existence. My fondest memories of Russell will always be of a shy, but intelligent animal who was very affectionate. Whenever I sat down on a step or on the ground, Russell would always come over and want to curl up in my lap for a cuddle. His playful antics and placid nature made him a joy to be with, and the worries of the day could be forgotten when you were with him.
 
When we released Russell, we were deeply saddened to see him go, but knew it was better for him and our goal was always to release him, not keep him. It was hard knowing that we couldn't see him again, as if we did 'visit' it would only confuse him and set him back. We took some comfort knowing that he was back in the bush and that we had a done a good job in raising him. To find him dead at the side of a road 6 weeks later.....words cannot describe the tremendous grief that Donna and I are experiencing, not to mention the senselessness of it all.
 
We'd like to thank those of you who took the time and made the effort to ask how we were doing with Russell, how he was going, was he ok and any help or assistance that you could give us. Your interest in what we were doing with him made it all the worth while and I'm so sorry to have to write to tell you that our little favourite has passed away.
 
Yours sincerely,
John & Donna

Needless to say, we were devastated at our loss. We buried Russell in our backyard under a fruit tree that Friday night. It was ironic to think that things had gone full circle. Russell came to us as an orphaned wombat after his mother had been hit by a car, and now he had died in similar circumstances. We started to question as to whether we could continue to raise these creatures, if this was going to be a certainty. As wildlife carers, the unfortunate death of an animal is part and parcel of the task, but this really hit us hard emotionally.

The Good...

Later that evening after digging Russell's grave and burying the poor soul, I had just stepped out of the shower feeling emotionally flat. The telephone was ringing, and Donna and I decided to let it go through to the answering machine as we were in no mood to talk to anyone. We heard Michelle's happy voice on the answering machine saying that she had seen Russell outside one of his burrows!!! He had always avoided her since we released him with her, and was often shy with his movements making it difficult to pinpoint where he was. Michelle was in the process of checking his burrows just to make sure that the dead wombat was not Russell, when she disturbed him and he ran back into his burrow.

I think that we will always look back on that day when our prayers were well and truly answered, not to mention the emotional roller-coaster we endured.

The Ugly...(some would say funny)

Fast forward to May 2002. Another wildlife carer has raised a female wombat (Jiji) and is releasing her near one of Russell's burrows on Michelle's property. It is hoped that Jiji will prove to be a suitable mate for Russell. Present are Jiji's carer, his wife, Michelle and her husband Peter.

One of Russell's burrows is approached (he now has 7), and sure enough, there are noises coming from within telling all present that Russell is not too keen on this intrusion into his territory. Russell emerges from his burrow grunting and growling. Since being released he has grown, and now appears to weigh over 30kgs.

Jiji is released, and makes towards Russell and the burrow. The carer, possibly keen to ensure that Jiji is unharmed, edges closer but also thinks that 'bonding' with Russell might be a good idea as well. The carer is warned by Michelle not to approach Russell, as he appears to be agitated and cranky. Ignoring Michelle's warning, the carer approaches Russell...and then havoc is let loose. Russell delivers a powerful bite with his two front incisor teeth to the back of carer's leg area.

Concerns are now on how Russell will treat Jiji, and it is hastily decided to remove Russell from the scene, grab Jiji and regroup. The carer and Peter managed to pick up a struggling, biting and annoyed Russell, whilst the carer's wife and Michelle attempt to retrieve Jiji (who has now gone into Russell's burrow). The plan is to take Russell up over a small hill and into the nearby valley, giving everyone enough breathing space to carry out the plan.

All goes well for a few minutes, until Russell is deposited in the nearby valley. From what we were told by Michelle, she looked up after hearing a shout and saw two grown men (Peter and the carer) scrambling through the bush with Russell growling and in hot pursuit...our 'little boy' had well and truly returned to his wild state.

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