In our quest to protest against bullying amongst wildlife colleagues, Wombat Rescue took a detour for its third visit of the annual tour. We decided not to visit a sanctuary, but instead a carer.
Someone who isn’t a charity or widely supported by a large following, but still giving all of herself in her work with our beautiful wildlife.
Anna Culliton
So the of us got up at am on Saturday and left a sleepy Canberra behind in the dark, full of anticipation for the day ahead. Some coffee and breakfast along the way and non-stop conversation about everything made short change of the hour trip.
Anna and musician husband Boris made the majestic Blue Mountains their home many many years ago. Anna hails from a family of artists and is a renowned potter herself. One day after seeing another dead wombat next to the road Anna decided to become more involved. She completed the training and from April last year have been caring for orphaned wombats.
Anna is the most genuine person I have ever met. So humble yet so full of love for her animals and so passionate about their cause. She is a natural when it comes to caring for the little orphans. It was a delight being in a home where the little joeys were this calm and well adjusted. This is a testament to the organic way that Anna believes in when raising her joeys and prioritises their health and well-being with the end goal a wild animal successfully living in the bush. She listens to them when they tell her they are ready to be weaned or ready to be soft released. She is in tune with their needs and responds in kind.
If theirs is a way of living in harmony with nature then Anna and Boris have achieved it..with their open generosity….receiving a welcome smile and farm cooked lunch whilst enjoying watching their rescued wombats frolicking on the kitchen floor waiting for their next bottle feed. Anna has self-funded wombat release enclosures in meeting the needs of the rescued wombats. A day spent with Anna is a day like no other. Judi
When we visited one of the enclosures, the two residents, Ella and Pepper came out to say hallo. Pepper was a little shy but Ella quickly realised she can show off a little and started zooming around.
We were most impressed with the structures, the size, how amazing the insides are and how much it looks like the bush, not an enclosure.
Anna is in her element, eyes sparkling as she explains to us how they
planned and built the outside enclosures. So much thought goes into
what the animals need and their interests are always put before anyone
else’s.
Each enclosure has trees for shade, the beginnings of a burrow
for the young ones to practice or established burrows by the bigger
wombats, grass and a sturdy wombat proof fence.
What I love most about the work that I do is how different and unique each of their personalities are. Anna
Anna says her greatest achievement is when a released animal comes back to show off their new joey. Then she knows she has truly done the absolute best she could by the animal that she cared for and loved. In her care, each orphan is given the best chance at life.
The wombats were so well adjusted and calm in their environment, it allowed me to see their individual personalities in a way I had not experienced before and which gave me incredible joy. Heather
This was truly an extraordinary experience, well worth being on the road for close to 8 hours. We loved every minute of this trip and are convinced that we will be back, this time to do more work than feeding and talking about wombats for hours on end while munching on home-made soup 🙂
Find her on Instagram @annaculliton
Written by Yolandi, Kelly, Heather and Judi