The Miracle of Gus, the Feathertail Glider

Without Your Help, Animals like Gus Won’t Get the Emergency Care They Need.

What happened to little Gus is like something you’d see in a wildlife documentary. Suddenly a life may be in danger ... you don’t really know. You just know they need help. Minutes count -- even seconds. That’s when emergency care at the Northern Rivers Wildlife Hospital makes all the difference. It can be a life-saver!

We'll tell you what happened to Gus in a minute. Maybe you’ve been through something like it yourself -- helping an animal in distress. You know how much getting urgent help means.

You are on our donation page because you get it. Your support of the Northern Rivers Wildlife Hospital shows us that you understand how important great wildlife care is in our community.

That’s why I’m asking you today to make a Christmas donation. You can help keep the Hospital— and all of its life-saving services available for all species of wildlife in our region. It’s so very important!

This Christmas, would you please consider a donation to Northern Rivers Wildlife Hospital of $10, $30, $50, $100 … or any amount — large, or small, or in between?

You’ll help make all the difference for an animal when they most need help … and that could be an animal you rescue this Christmas and New Year holiday season. 

You’ll really see how important this is when I tell you the story of Gus, the Feathertail Glider. Keep reading, because it’s really a small miracle…

Picture a short walk in the garden close to the family home looking at the birds and other wildlife, enjoying the morning sunlight. Then, something caught the eye amongst the leaf litter. It is a mouse? A leaf? A little pink jelly bean. Then it moved. It was alive but what was it? Why is it alone on the ground?

Luckily our caring morning walkers knew they had stumbled on something amazing. A tiny marsupial out of its mothers pouch. What could they do to help before something ate it? Who can they call?

So, what happened next to Gus?

On arrival at the Hospital wrapped up in a sock, it was unsure if he would make it. Only two weeks old and totally dependent on being in his mother pouch and suckling milk. Eyes closed. No fur, just pink wrinkly skin. No sign of his mother. 

Can the Vet save him?  He was deathly still. We feared he had already given up. 

After a Vet check it was decided to try and hand feed Gus. Would he take the milk from the tiny syringe? How do we keep him warm? Gus needed to be fed every two hours. Over the first few days Gus made some progress. We fed him the specially purchased formula, he gained some weight, we kept him warm and waited for his eyes to open. He was fighting to live. 

It will be a difficult road ahead for Gus as we find a dedicated Widlife professional team to raise him before a release back into the wild close to where he was found.  

Can you Give to Gus and other local native animals just like him in our care at the Wildlife Hospital?

Updates on Gus are available over the next few weeks in the lead up to the end of the year so stay tuned to our emails and website for more pictures from Gus. Visit Give to Gus