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 | People and wildlife |
| Wedgetail eagle (see below for a larger image) |
Meet two carers of the many around the world who don't just pay lip-service to the welfare of their fellow creatures. Unfortunately, they're a tiny part of the human population.
In the centre of the photograph on the left (above) is Dr Mike Bossley, helping rescue a sick bottlenose dolphin in what turned out to be a vain attempt to save its life. At right is Bev Langley, with a baby ringtail possum, one of hundreds of abandoned, lost or injured creatures she cares for at her animal refuge in the southern Adelaide Hills. Mike and Bev devote much of their lives to helping protect wild (and domestic) animals.
Dr Bossley founded the
Australian Dolphin Research Foundation in Adelaide, where he's been studying the dolphins of the city's Port River and adjacent coastline since the 1980s. The South Australian Government created the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary largely because of Dr Bossley's efforts, and he was made a member of the Order of Australia in 2006 in recognition of his work. It's thought unusual that a city of a million has such a large, accessible dolphin population. The young dolphin he was trying to help above died soon after of natural causes. But over the years, several of Adelaide's dolphins have been killed by humans, some deliberately, some accidentally. Others have suffered from industrial and other urban pollution, such as abandoned fishing tackle and plastic bags. The Port River estuary is also an important haven for birdlife and a fish nursery
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Bev Langley's a recipient of the International Fund for Animal Welfare's 2003 Action Award. She runs the Minton Farm Animal Rescue Centre
She started caring for animals after suffering a life-threatening illness herself. As well as her international award and civic honours, she's received some local government grants for her work, but still relies heavily on private donations and volunteer helpers. The animals she cares for range from pets whose owners are no longer able to look after them, to injured and abandoned wildlife. The baby tawny frogmouth was attacked by a kookaburra but was saved by devoted nursing; the young wedge-tailed eagle was seriously injured when it stepped on a rabbit-trap then flew up into power lines. "Jake", the young roo with Bev in the right-hand photograph, was left an orphan when his mother was killed by a vehicle. He was rescued from the pouch of his mother and raised by Bev
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