Man versus beast: rescuing the city's creatures in strife

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Jaw-dropping work ... WIRES reptile handler Gary Pattinson holds the almost two-metres long goanna he caught in Duffys Forest after it attacked chickens in a backyard coop.
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N THEORY, catching a goanna is simple: turn a canvas bag inside out, encourage the lizard to bite the end, then quickly roll the bag back over its two-metre length. In practice, it can be man versus prehistoric lizard in a deadly wrestling match, with even the victor dripping blood, as Sydney's WIRES rescue team discovered last week.

The charity has two full-time animal ambulances that cross the city every day, rescuing birds, possums, snakes and dozens of other imperilled creatures. Since the non-profit operation was established 18 months ago, it has been swamped by requests.

''People don't realise but there are animals everywhere in the city,'' says rescuer Barry Alexander, en route to his first job of the day - freeing an endangered grey-headed flying fox from a Burwood backyard. ''A lot of the buildings in the city, for example, have snakes in the basement. It's dark and they have plenty of rats and mice - the perfect environment. I rescued a red-bellied black snake in Sussex Street last week.''

The rescued animals are released in a safe place or taken to the local vet, who usually hands them to one of the hundreds of WIRES volunteers who nurse injured animals back to health. The flying fox looks nonplussed, caught in a net strung up to protect a fig tree.

It's dark eyes follow Mr Alexander as he uses a scalpel to saw the net. The bat flaps its wings wildly and tries to nip its rescuer. A bat nip can be serious - three men in Queensland were infected with rabies-like lyssavirus last week after being bitten. ''You've got to be careful, but I don't blame them for trying to bite and scratch, it's the only protection they've got,'' Mr Alexander says. The freed bat is bundled in towels and taken to a Marrickville vet.

At 1.45pm an unusual call comes through. A ''giant goanna'' has entered a chicken coop in Duffys Forest and evicted or eaten the occupants. Barry calls for reinforcements.

More: http://www.smh.com.au/national/man-versus-beast-rescuing-the-citys-creatures-in-strife-20100110-m0u2.html