Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital

04/06/2026

04/06/2026

💭 endoscopic procedures aren’t just for humans?

This Tawny Frogmouth was admitted to our hospital and began treatment for an infection 🦠, but after a few days on antibiotics it wasn’t showing any improvement.

Our veterinary team used an endoscope to perform a coelioscopy- which is a minimally-invasive assessment of the internal cavities and organs- to determine if something unusual was hindering recovery.

Unfortunately, the procedure revealed that the patient was suffering from an Aspergillosis fungal infection, which had severely compromised its respiratory system 😞. The decision was therefore made to euthanise the Tawny Frogmouth on humane grounds.❤️‍🩹

Equipment such as endoscopes enable our veterinary team to perform a range of incredible and vital diagnostics 🔬, and give wildlife patients the highest standard of care and treatment. We could not offer these services without the generous donations and support from our community, to whom we extend our deepest thanks ♥️

03/06/2026

Are you a qualified veterinarian looking 👀 for an exciting new chapter in your career?
Do you have a passion for wildlife medicine and conservation?🦎

✨We are HIRING!✨

We are looking for an experienced veterinarian to join our team at our wildlife hospital 🏥 headquarters in beautiful Lennox Head, NSW.
If you’re looking for a career where you can make a real difference for the future of wildlife🐢, we’d love to hear from you!

📲 Apply: https://au.seek.com/job/92480670

Please note, Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital cannot offer visa sponsorships for employment.
Applicants must have the legal right to live and work in Australia, and have NSW veterinary registration.
See application link for full details.

02/06/2026

Meet “Kelly”!

“Kelly” is a Kangaroo Island Kangaroo 🦘, a subspecies of the Western Grey Kangaroo. She was found in a paddock alone, cold and lethargic- a critical situation for a joey so young.

The land owner immediately phoned Kangala Wildlife Rescue, one of the wonderful organisations on Kangaroo Island dedicated to rescuing and caring for the island’s precious wildlife.

As luck would have it, the Wildlife Recovery Australia National Tour 🚛 arrived on Kangaroo Island the same day “Kelly” was rescued! Kangala Wildlife Rescue contacted our team and organised to bring the little joey in to see our veterinary team.

Our team undertook a complete health assessment 🩺 of “Kelly”, and discovered that she was suffering from a nasty case of pneumonia and giarrdia. She was put on a treatment plan and sent into care with one of Kangala’s experienced carers, Emily.

Emily has been kind enough to send our team updates and we are thrilled to report that “Kelly” is thriving! 🤩 She quickly recovered from her illnesses once on the right medications, and is gaining weight and learning how to socialise with other joeys!

🦘 Help us continue to treat and protect wildlife like “Kelly” by heading to wildlifeguardians.raiselysite.com and becoming a Wildlife Guardian. If you’d prefer to make a one-off EOFY donation, you can still support wildlife through the same link.

📸 Nelson Patchett

01/06/2026

"Tyler", a Wedge-tailed Eagle rehabilitated after suffering a cruel and debilitating injury, has been released back into the wild in the Northern Rivers, carrying with him the name and legacy of a young man whose love for wildlife continues to inspire his family and friends.❤

To honour Tyler’s memory and help protect Australia’s precious wildlife and biodiversity for future generations, his mother Sarah is fundraising to support the costs involved in caring for sick and injured birds of prey. 🦅

📲 Head to https://www.chuffed.org/project/tylers-wings to watch the full story of "Tyler’s" rescue, treatment, rehabilitation and release, and donate to help us treat other raptors like "Tyler".

01/06/2026

✨To our wonderful wildlife rescuers & carers and Northern Rivers community,

Please note our opening hours from Monday June 1st to Monday June 8th.

If you find injured, unwell or orphaned wildlife, please bring them to our hospital 🏥 in Lennox Head during our opening hours, or download 📲 the iFAW Wildlife Rescue app to be connected to one of our incredible local wildlife rescue organisations.

31/05/2026

Lorikeet Paralysis Syndrome (LPS): What is it and what can you do?

This World Parrot Day 🐦, we'd like to highlight our precious lorikeets and a serious condition they are facing.

Every year along the East coasts of Southern QLD and Northern NSW, wildlife hospitals are inundated with lorikeets suffering from Lorikeet Paralysis Syndrome (LPS). This mysterious illness causes moderate-to-severe paralytic symptoms and is usually fatal if not treated correctly and quickly. The exact cause is still unknown, but extensive research 🔬 is being conducted to try and determine it.

Symptoms include:
🔺Difficulty or inability to fly - in the early stages, lorikeets may be found hopping or climbing whilst flapping their wings, unable to gain or maintain flight.
🔺Changes in voice (lorikeet normally have a strong, high-pitched screech voice, but paralytic effects on the vocal cords can reduce or alter their call).
🔺Reduced or no blink reflex
🔺Reduced or no tongue movement
🔺Reduced or no ability to walk or grip

If you find a lorikeet showing unusual symptoms, please:
✔️Use a small towel to carefully transfer the lorikeet to a small pet carrier or box with plenty of air holes (if you do not feel comfortable handling the animal, keep pets and children clear of the area and see below)
✔️Call your local wildlife rescue organisation for assistance, or transport the lorikeet to your nearest wildlife vet hospital or vet clinic.
✔️Keep the lorikeet in a quiet, dark, warm space away from pets and noise (including in the car).

Please do not:
❌Attempt to offer food or water, as lorikeets suffering from LPS will have a reduced swallowing reflex and be unable to swallow, resulting in aspiraton of fluids or food into the lungs.
❌Attempt to treat the lorikeet at home- LPS diagnosis and treatment requires extensive assessment, training and prescribed medications which can only be performed and dispensed by a veterinary professional.
❌Assume that the lorikeet is friendly and/or a lost pet. LPS severely reduces a lorikeet's ability to move or behave normally, so any unusual movement or behaviour should be considered concerning.

28/05/2026

Volunteer Highlight: Meet Pene! 🤩

Pene is one of our amazing hospital volunteers, who gives her time, energy and skills to support our team every week!

Recently, Pene was out and about collecting the generous donations from our community donation boxes when she ran into Australian tennis legend Pat Rafter, who was kind enough to pose for a cheeky selfie with Pene (in her BBWH uniform- truly going above and beyond in community advertising Pene! 😝)

We are truly grateful 🙏 to have people like Pene in our community who are passionate about wildlife conservation, and willing to volunteer their spare time to support us and our team.

To everyone who has contributed to our community donation boxes- thank you! Because of you, we recently raised over $1,300 to support wildlife treatment and care!🐢

28/05/2026

Remember “R2D2”? 🦉

After being hit by a car and attacked by other birds, “R2D2” the sooty owl was admitted to our hospital in a critical condition, with head trauma and injuries to his tail and legs.

Our incredible veterinary team worked tirelessly to stabilise and treat him 🩺, and after 3 weeks of intensive care in hospital he was perching, self-feeding, bright and alert- all wonderful signs of recovery! ❤️‍🩹

“R2D2” was then transferred to our state-of-the-art Raptor Rehabilitation Centre where he continued to show remarkable signs of improvement, and last month he was released back into the wild! 🤩

We are truly proud 🥹 of our incredible veterinary team for their compassion, hard work and dedication for all wildlife. Happy outcomes like “R2D2’s” are what we strive for with every single patient admitted to our hospital.♥️

26/05/2026

That's a wrap! 🎬
Wildlife Recovery Australia's inaugural National Tour is complete and we wanted to share some highlights of the action-packed final few weeks.

Departing the Capes Raptor Centre in spectacular Margaret River, we began our return journey across the iconic Nullarbor Plain when we received word about a King Penguin🐧named "Hope" who had come ashore in Esperance and needed medical assistance. Our team met with the local wildlife carers and Swans Veterinary Services, where together we assessed and developed a treatment plan for the penguin, under the leadership of Dr. Alex Hockton.

"Matilda" 🚛 and team continued East to the beautiful Barossa Valley, Adelaide, and Strath Creek, VIC. Our BBWH team- vet Dr. Maddie Lloyd and vet nurse Marcia Bergamini- worked alongside wildlife rescuers and veterinary teams from Barossa Wildlife Rescue, Southern Koala and Echidna Rescue Ltd, LnLz Wildlife Care & Rescue, and Euroa Pouch Babies to treat a range of wildlife patients including koalas 🐨, possums, gliders and birds.

The National Tour then made its way back to the East coast, where vet Dr. Jana Schader spent some time treating wildlife patients in care with Mudgeroo Wombat & Wildlife Refuge and Wildlife Rescue South Coast Inc in Nowra. Patient admissions included a Hawksbill turtle 🐢 and an Eastern quoll, both threatened species listed as Vulnerable and Endangered respectively under Australia's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.

We then spent five days in Sydney, where we met with politicians at Sydney Parliament House to advocate📋for a National Framework for wildlife rescue, treatment & care; and treated local wildlife in care with WIRES, Sydney Wildlife (Sydney Metropolitan Wildlife Services), and Hills Wildlife Sanctuary.

Our final stops were at Port Stephens Koala Hospital and Guulabaa, Place of Koala at Koala Hospital Port Macquarie, both state of the art facilities in wildlife care. There, our Chief Veterinary Officer Dr. Bree Talbot and vet nurse Chloe Lawrence collaborated 🤝with the local hospitals' own veterinary teams to treat some very special in-patients, including several koalas!

From coast to coast, across 16,629 km 🗺, this has been an epic and highly significant journey. Our creative team are putting together a video package to share some of the highlights of our the National Tour soon, so stay tuned!👀

Special thanks to Inner West Council for allowing us to receive patients at Henson Park, Member for Bathurst Paul Toole MP for sponsoring our Parliament House visit, and Ben Dessen - Pets, Wildlife & Conservation for supporting our visit to Parliament House with some permanent care wildlife ambassadors!

📸 Lyndal Redman, Nelson Patchett, Peter Frare, James D. Morgan/Getty Images