“It was touch and go for a while.”
When a cheese factory employee in Australia recently found a fuzzy visitor staring up at them from the bottom of an oil drum, the shocked worker couldn’t help but do a double take. Factory personnel quickly called the Bonorong Wildlife Rescue Service hotline. Soon, Ned, a WIRES Emergency Response Team driver, was on his way.
The scared visitor wasn’t just any animal — he was an Eastern quoll, a medium-sized, spotted marsupial native to Australia. According to WWF Australia, Eastern quolls are an endangered species. Once more prevalent, their numbers dwindled through the years due to trapping, poisoning and increased predation, among other factors.
In a Facebook post, Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary speculates that the quoll, whom they later named Scroll, likely fell into the drum while following its garlicky aroma. Once inside, Scroll’s fur became saturated with oil, and he couldn’t get out.
Ned plucked Scroll from the oil drum and brought him to Bonorong Wildlife Hospital. At first, rescuers feared the worst. The oil gave Scroll inhalation pneumonia, making it hard for him to breathe.
“It was touch and go for a while,” Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary primary care manager Emily Garvey told The Dodo.
But the rescue team wasn’t giving up. They kept Scroll on a strict care plan and carefully monitored his recovery. Six weeks after he arrived at the hospital, Scroll looked completely different. He felt so much better, and he was ready to return to the wild.
Rescuers released Scroll back in the area where they found him, a safe distance from the cheese factory. They smiled as they watched him scurry back into the bushes, where he belonged.
“We’re always so happy to see any of our patients returned to the wild after their rehabilitation,” Garvey said. “But even more so for animals who have been in long-term care.”
To help other animals like Scroll, you can make a donation to Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary.