By Laura Michell
Reporting injured kangaroos will become easier – Wildlife Victoria has signed up to a smartphone app that can detail the location of animals needing help.
Wildlife Victoria has joined up to the Snap, Send, Solve app, which will enable people to lodge reports and photos of injured native wildlife.
Reports will pinpoint the locations of injured animals and help rescuers to identify their species.
The app move comes as Wildlife Victoria named Whittlesea and Hume as Victorian top spots for reports about injured animals in 2017-18. Epping was named as the suburb where animals were most likely to be injured.
Whittlesea council last month held a community forum about living with kangaroos in response to community concerns about the number of kangaroos being hit by cars in Mernda and South Morang.
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Wildlife Victoria chief executive Megan Davidson said that in 2017-18, 8000 injured kangaroos were reported to the organisation across the state. More than 6000 of them were hit by cars.
“The northern growth corridor is a high-risk area,” she said. “[Kangaroos] are hit on the road in growth communities because housing developments and commercial developments are displacing them.
“It has been a very bad season for injured kangaroos on the road.”
Ms Davidson said that in June, Wildlife Victoria was called to 36 injured animals in South Morang and 26 in Epping, making those suburbs two of the most reported areas.
“The more we can raise awareness and get people thinking about wildlife and preventing accidents, the better,” she said.
“At the very least people can be the eyes and ears of animals and report them if they get injured. Slow down and keep your eye open. If you see a kangaroo, you are likely to see more.”
