Tiny wombat saved by round-the-clock care from wildlife carers

"We can't save them all, but bloody hell, we try." It's a statement that sums up the attitude of Australian wildlife carers Stephanie Clark and Wayne White. Stephanie and Wayne are proud foster parents of an eight-month-old baby wombat called Tunna. He's one little fella who makes the couple's efforts all worthwhile. The orphan was found in its fatally injured mother's pouch.



The pair named him Tunna after Tunnack, the area near where he was found. Tunna weighed just 100gms, he was smaller than a tennis ball, hairless, his eyes fused shut and his claws smaller than Stephanie's finger nails. Tunna now weighs 3.1 kg and is thriving on around-the-clock care. "We just tag team," Stephanie said. "He sleeps in a humidicrib which is temperature controlled and humidified."

"That's what really saved him," Wayne said. Stephanie, 54, a retired Army nurse and Wayne, 62, a Vietnam veteran, moved from Queensland three years ago. They are longtime wildlife carers. "We love and respect our wildlife - they need all the help they can get," Stephanie said.


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The couple do not get financial assistance for their efforts, it is all out of their own pockets. "We both love animals and we respect our wildlife," Stephanie said. "Mankind is taking over their land, their habitat and we're killing them. Tunna is just starting to munch grass and travels with the couple wherever they go because of his feeding regime. He will later be released back into the wild.