Healesville Sanctuary Fires force Healesville zoo evacuation

Simon Hampel

Simon Hampel

Administrator
Staff member
20+ year member
Fires force Healesville zoo evacuation - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

A zoo in the Yarra Valley, east of Melbourne, is being evacuated because of the bushfires.

Staff have relocated the entire threatened species collection from the Healesville Sanctuary, including birds, possums, koalas, wallabies, Tasmanian devils and dingoes.

Almost 200 animals have been moved to the Melbourne Zoo and Werribee Open Range Zoo.

Hatchlings and eggs have also been moved.

Staff have been at the sanctuary around the clock since the fires began.

Motorists in the Yarra Ranges, east of Melbourne, are being urged to take extra care, with reports of stock wandering onto roads where fences have been damaged or destroyed by bushfire.

The Yarra Ranges Shire Council says rural areas of the shire including Healesville and Yarra Glen are the most affected.
Click to expand...
 
I am very sorry to hear of the situation over there and wish everyone luck with animal moves. Hope the situation begins to become a little easier soon for human and animal.
 
i think this is shocking. the death toll for humans is approaching one hundred by the minute, thank christ Healesville has evacuated its threatened species collection.
a few years ago Tidinbilla, a conservation centre near Canberra was wiped out by bushfires and there was a terrible loss of animal life including endangered animals. Given that Healesville holds the major ex-situ populations of several critically endangered species this evacuation process could be considered an incredibly timely precaution.
to our Victorian members, thinking of you guys
 
My heart aches for all of the people suffering through all of the disasters in Australia--both fires and floods. So many people displaced, losing homes and family, so many animals suffering the loss of habitat and their lives. Let's all hope for rain for the south and dry for the north.
 
Rookeyper said:
My heart aches for all of the people suffering through all of the disasters in Australia--both fires and floods. So many people displaced, losing homes and family, so many animals suffering the loss of habitat and their lives. Let's all hope for rain for the south and dry for the north.
Click to expand...

and i would like to echo that too, is truly awful and to all our Australian friends we are thinking about you.
 
With the death toll now at 108 and entire towns destroyed (that is so hard to imagine, every building destroyed every house, shop, police station etc) I am so glad that I am not living in that part of Australia. I am trying to imagine what it would have been like to try and relocate so many animals. Was the fire close to Healesville. If it was I would thing that many of the animals would be panicking and so especially hard to catch. I wish all the staff at Healseville all the best.
 
From what I can tell (only by looking at the Google maps that Google have published), there was a grass fire the other side of Healesville. Given how fast these fires can move, they may not have had all that much time if the wind had picked up and driven it towards the sanctuary.
 
The ash has finally cleared away, and where I live thankfully the fire in view on the mountain didn't do much harm at all. What is really disturbing though is that most of the fires were deliberately lit.
 
oh dear just watched the news many of the fires have now been deliberately relit, most likely by the same people.
 
The fact that they fires were deliberatley lit really makes me angry. The death toll is so high and the fact that entire towns have dissappeared from the map is insane. So many of the stories that are coming up on the news about the terrible things that have happened tear my heart out and the stories of heroism and genorosity just go to show how many amazing people are out there.
 
Last edited:
I hear you Pat, it's terrible indeed worse than Black Friday and Ash wednesday put together.
 
Again, so sorry to hear about all your troubles there, a terrible tradegy. As the news unfolds it is truly heartbreaking to hear of the huge loss of life and the awful disruption and pain this is causing. My thoughts are constantly with you all.
 
Horrifying pictures and stories in the papers and television of the fires , feel so sorry for anybody caught up in it . The chaos caused in the UK by a bit of snow - far less than our neighbours on the European mainland are used to - is nothing in comparison .
 
Lets all just hope you get some of our wonderfull rain soon to end these fires,the loss of life is no laughing matter if they find the poeple responsible for re-lighting the fires they should be charged with MURDER and the keys thrown away!!!
 
zoogiraffe said:
Lets all just hope you get some of our wonderfull rain soon to end these fires,the loss of life is no laughing matter if they find the poeple responsible for re-lighting the fires they should be charged with MURDER and the keys thrown away!!!
Click to expand...

That's what they are planning to do, once they find the perps they will most likely be charged with murder as the news over has stated, the weather has eased up in the last two days but is gonna rise to the high twenties and the mid thirties the rest of the week.
 
is the Healesville Sanctuary privately-owned or government? If the property should get razed to the ground, do you think it would be rebuilt (either on-site or elsewhere)?
 
Chlidonias said:
is the Healesville Sanctuary privately-owned or government?
Click to expand...

Healesville (along with Melbourne and Werribee) are the three facilities run by "Zoos Victoria" and are governed by the Zoological Parks and Gardens Board of Victoria - a body appointed by the Vic. Govt.

I have no doubt that the work done by Healesville in the rescue and rehabilitation of native animals, and the conservation of threatened native species is deemed important enough to rebuild the sanctuary if it were destroyed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top