Globally, millions of animals are rescued and rehabilitated by wildlife carers each year. Information gathered in this process is useful for uncovering threats to native wildlife, particularly those from anthropogenic causes. However, few studies using rehabilitation data include a diverse range of fauna, cover large geographical areas, and consider long-term trends. Furthermore, few studies have statistically modelled causes of why animals come into care, and what are their chances of survival. This study draws on 469,553 rescues reported over six years by wildlife rehabilitators for 688 species of bird, reptile, and mammal from New South Wales, Australia. For birds and mammals, ‘abandoned/orphaned’ and ‘collisions with vehicles’ were the dominant causes for rescue, however for reptiles this was ‘unsuitable environment’. Overall rescue numbers were lowest in winter, and highest in spring, with six-times more ‘abandoned/orphaned’ individuals in spring than winter. Of the 364,461 rescues for which the fate of an animal was known, 92% fell within two categories: ‘dead’, ‘died or euthanased’ (54.8% of rescues with known fate) and animals that recovered and were subsequently released (37.1% of rescues with known fate). Modelling of the fate of animals indicated that the likelihood of animal survival (i.e. chance of: being released, left and observed, or permanent care), was related to the cause for rescue. In general, causes for rescue involving physical trauma (collisions, attacks, etc.) had a much lower likelihood of animals surviving than other causes such as ‘unsuitable environment’, ‘abandoned/orphaned’, and this also showed some dependence upon whether the animal was a bird, reptile, or mammal. This suggests rehabilitation efforts could be focused on particular threats or taxa to maximise success, depending on the desired outcomes. The results illustrate the sheer volume of work undertaken by rehabilitation volunteers and professionals toward both animal welfare and to the improvement of wildlife rehabilitation in the future.

Habitat usage characteristics of two species of native murid rodents, Pseudomys gradlicaudatus and Rattus lutreolus were investigated on an area of coastal heathland at Myall Lakes National Park. A grid of 151 trap stations comprising 17 traplines was positioned across a mosaic of habitats. At each trap station 19 structural vegetation and physical variables known to affect the microdistribution of small mammals were measured. Multivariate statistical procedures identified those microhabitat variables that contribute to individual species' habitat use and habitat partitioning, and reduce potential competition for space. Cluster analysis classified trap stations into one of six habitat types that were mapped on the study area, identifying a heterogeneous assemblage of interlocking habitats. The pattern is a consequence of topographic variation on the site and, to a lesser extent, its fire history. Trapping results show P. gradlicaudatus and R. lutreolus exhibit similar macrohabitat selection, preferring topographically low habitats, with both species predominantly occupying short detise heath with dense sedge cover. The high overlap in macrohabitat use is greatly reduced when considered trap station by trap station, so that discriminant function and multiple regression analyses demonstrate marked microhabitat selection. Elevation was a highly significant variable, accounting for 41% and 27% of the variance in the habitat used by P. gradlicaudatus and R. lutreolus, respectively. This variable represents a soil moisture gradient that determines changes in the floristic and structural components of the biotic environment. Two other structural vegetation variables and vegetation height contributed 30% of tbe variance in P. gradlicaudatus distribution. Sedge cover was found to be significant and explained 13% of the variance in R. lutreolus distribution. Within-habitat separation was explained best with a linear combination of variables in a discriminant function, rather than by any single variable. Differential microhabitat selection, interference competition and diet separation appear to be the major factors facilitating coexistence of these two species.

The provision of wildlife rescue and rehabilitation services in New South Wales (NSW) relies heavily on the volunteer sector. The NSW Government regulates the sector and is responsible for identifying measures for its support and delivery of services. To inform this process, we undertook an extensive review of the sector. We report here on the results from our survey of NSW volunteer wildlife rehabilitators, who have collectively reported over 1,000,000 rescues of sick and injured free-living wildlife over the past 16 years. The survey provided a unique insight into the demographics of the sector, the challenges faced, and the value of their contribution to wildlife rehabilitation. Volunteers’ views on the operation of wildlife rehabilitation providers cover five key areas: governance, training, standards of care, service capacity and reporting, as well as the support received from other stakeholders, NSW Wildlife Council (the peak body for the sector), veterinary professionals and government. We found that the volunteer wildlife rehabilitation sector in NSW provides a significant public good that is of high value to the environment, community and government. We make recommendations for investment and strategic improvements to the capacity of the sector to continue to deliver services including transitioning wildlife rehabilitation providers towards a system of accreditation in the future.