- Kurt Aaron, 36, from Hunter Valley, NSW, is a wildlife carer.
- For the last three years the Aussie legend has opened his heart and home to dozens of Aussie animals in need.
- It’s like running a day care for toddlers, but Kurt wouldn’t have it any other way!
Here Kurt tells his story in his own words.
Scooping the injured turtle into my arms, I carefully carried it back to my home.
‘I’ll look after you,’ I whispered to the distressed reptile that had been attacked by a bird at a nearby pond.
I was only six and, while most kids were playing with their friends, I spent my days playing with all critters great and small.
Placing the turtle in a polystyrene box with water in it, I took him home and nursed him back to health before releasing him back into the wild two weeks later.
From that moment on I dreamed of helping sick, injured and needy animals.
‘I’ll look after you.’
But after leaving school, my life went in a different direction and I worked across other fields, including as a chef, personal trainer and care support worker.
Still, none of it felt as rewarding as nurturing sick and injured creatures back to good health.
So in 2022, aged 33, I sat down with my partner, Corin, 31. ‘I want to be a wildlife carer,’ I explained.
‘Follow your dreams and be happy,’ he replied supportively.
With his encouragement, I enrolled in a course with WIRES (Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service), learning how to rescue, care for and rehabilitate injured wildlife.
After becoming a registered wildlife carer, I reached out to a local wildlife group, offering my support.
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Thankfully, I had enough money saved up so I was able to focus on voluntary animal conservation.
Soon after, I found a wombat lying by the side of the road. Sadly, she’d been hit by a car and was dead, but then I spotted a tiny baby poke its head out of her pouch.
It was so small it could fit in the palm of my hand.
‘You’re coming home with me, baby girl,’ I whispered, cradling her in my arms.
I named her Bindi and we formed a magical bond as I stood in for her wombat dad.
‘You’re coming home with me, baby girl.’
I fed her every few hours with special formula, and she slept in a little dog basket with blankets.
Before long she became a bundle of energy spending her days bounding around the house crashing into chair legs and ramming the couch.
That December on New Year’s Eve, as the clock struck midnight, I peered into her soulful brown eyes.
‘Happy New Year,’ I said to her, kissing my little joey’s nose. By now she was the size of a dinner plate.
Filming the sweet interaction, I uploaded the footage to my Instagram @wombat.daddy which I use to educate people about wildlife conservation.
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Incredibly, the video went viral, amassing millions of views.
Around the same time, I took in another wombat joey who I named Billy after a member of the public had bundled him in a Billy Idol shirt.
The joey had deep wounds on his back, likely from a bird of prey, and was covered in ticks which took weeks to remove.
Sharing footage of both wombats online, people loved following their progress as they grew big and strong.
After 14 months, I moved Bindi to an outdoor enclosure on a property.
There gradually she could come and go as she pleased, before bounding off back into the wild for good. Billy followed shortly after.
Next, I took in an orphaned wombat joey I called Ellie, and a grey-headed flying fox I named Alice, rescuing them a week apart.
Alice had been found clinging helplessly to her dead mother, who was dangling from a power line after being electrocuted.
While the public are not permitted to handle or take in and care for bats, being a registered wildlife carer with the necessary accreditation, training and vaccinations, I’m certified to do so.
Swaddling her in a specially made bat wrap – a cushion with a cloth to encase her and mimic her mother’s wings – I fed and cared for Alice until, at five weeks, she was big enough to dangle from the clothes airer in the lounge room.
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Now 10 weeks old, Alice is flapping her wings constantly, and it won’t be long before she’ll take her first flight.
Ellie, now 10 months, is the funniest little thing, always making chattering noises with her teeth when she dozes in my lap.
A little explorer with boundless energy, she revels in darting in between my feet when I walk.
Being a wildlife dad is rewarding but tough, especially forking out for all their needs, such as buying formula and feed, plus the cost of my time working for free.
Thankfully Corin is always on hand to help, and if I need to take on part-time work, he steps in to babysit and is a fab foster carer to our little bubs.
In the last three years, we’ve opened our hearts and homes to dozens of animals in need.
While it’s bittersweet to see them go when they’re old enough, it’s rewarding to watch them return to their natural habitats.
Right now, I have one wombat, two fruit bats and two rescue snakes at home.
When they’re all big and strong enough, or rehabilitated, they’ll be released back into their natural habitat too.
No doubt by then I’ll have opened my arms to even more critters in need of care.
When I’m not busy with regular feeds, baths, play and cuddle time, and cleaning up wee and poop, I spend my days out on rescue drives, checking wombat burrows and webcams, and observing wildlife before darting home to my really wild and wonderful family.
At any given time, we can always count on mischief from the rescues, such as jumping on top of the computer desk or chewing on a chair leg.
It’s like running a daycare for toddlers, but we wouldn’t have it any other way!
