Wildlife rescuer is the best friend of local koalas

On his Facebook page, Help Save the Wildlife and Bushlands in Campbelltown, Ricardo Carlo Lonza calls himself a wildlife rescuer.

Which he is, as a volunteer with WIRES, the animal rescue organisation.

But in truth, like most wildlife volunteers he’s a lot more than that.

Without the likes of him fewer injured koalas would survive around the bushland of Campbelltown.

Ricardo – some people call him Richard – a 40 year old father of three, is our very own koala champion.

When a call comes through WIRES about an injured koala, Ricardo is on the job straight away – no matter when it happens.

Our local koalas don’t know it, but Ricardo is always looking out for them.

He may not wear a cape, but if koalas could talk they would say he’s their very own super hero.

And it all started because he fell in love with the first koala he ever helped.

Her name was Alexis and she climbed inside the backyard of Ricardo’s neighbour at Ruse.

“My neighbour knocked on the door and said, Richard, there’s a koala out the back,” he recalls.

“And I said, what do you mean there’s a koala out the back. There’s no koalas here.

[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“So I went around the back and he showed me where it was and I thought, oh God, there is a koala.[/social_quote]

“It was right near the fire trail behind my house,’’ Ricardo said.

“I rang Rob Close [the local koala expert from the university of Western Sydney] and he asked me if it was down low and I said, yes, and it has ear tags.

“And Rob said it’s common for them to be through there [near Smith’s Creek Reserve].

“He said leave it with me so I can find out which koala it is,’’ Ricardo said.

“Rob called back to say it was a koala named Alexis.

“Sadly she’s now passed away, but at that moment I decided that would be my goal, to look after koalas,’’ Ricardo said.

“I started the page on Facebook, then I started asking people to call koala sightings in, then I joined WIRES.

“So then I got more call outs than ever.’’

And that’s how he likes it.

Even when the odd koala he’s trying to rescue thanks him by scratching away at him.

“I got one out at Ruse Public School that got hit by a car and ran up a little tree, and I rescued him,’’ Ricardo explains.

“You have to rescue them from behind under the arms – if you grab them anywhere else you can hurt them because they’re soft.

“You gotta get them from underneath the arms and then pull them from the tree, like unhooking something, and this one turned his legs and gave me a good scratch.’’

Ricardo wasn’t always a wildlife and koala champion.

It all started when he first moved to Campbelltown, and going for a bush walk at the back of his Ruse home he had to dodge all the rubbish that had been dumped there.

“When I saw all the rubbish I thought it was disgusting,’’ says Ricardo.

“That’s when I started thinking I should do something.

“I’ve always liked animals and wildlife, but I’ve never done much about it until then.

“And when I moved here I didn’t even know there were koalas in Campbelltown.’’

Alexis changed all that and Ricardo has been the local koalas’ best friend ever since.

“Whenever a call comes in I’m always on to it.

[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“I like all wildlife, but the koalas, I don’t know what it is, something, since I saw Alexis in that tree it made me fall in love with koalas,’’ he says.[/social_quote]

“And ever since then I’ve been determined to help them.’’

And our koalas – the colony is supposed to contain more than 300 of the cuddly critters – need all the friends they can get.

Other than the so called renewal developments of housing estates such as Minto and Airds, the past 10-15 years have not seen much in the way of new homes built around Campbelltown.

The habitats of the koalas have been relatively free of new developments, which inevitably results in the loss of their food source: gum trees.

Housing development to put pressure on habitat

But a tsunami of new housing is on the way, which is bound to put pressure on the sensitive parts of the koala habitats that stretch from Wedderburn and Appin to St Helens Park, Airds and Ruse.

Ricardo is one of many locals concerned with how trees along the Smiths Creek wildlife corridor were chopped down to make way for new homes at the Airds redevelopment.

“They mowed down everything and put houses on them,’’ he says.

“They said they’d plant new trees.

“But where? There’s no room, the house lots are so small,’’ Ricardo says.

“And planting new trees is not the same if you’ve chopped down trees which are decades old.

“A koala’s not going to climb a new tree.’’

Ricardo believes a lot of people in Campbelltown don’t like the idea of development even though there isn’t an organised environment group or organisation.

“I am not against development if it was done properly,’’ he says.

Between rescuing koalas and a career as a logistics manager Ricardo finds time to keep an eye on Campbelltown Council, regularly attending meetings.

“I reckon everyone should go to a council meeting if you want to know what’s going on in the area,’’ he says.

“But I’d like to see council get residents along to the committee meetings, where they can have a say.

“At a recent committee meeting the mayor, Paul Hawker, said Lysaght Road in Wedderburn should not be opened to traffic because it would encourage development and it would affect the koala colony down there.

“That was good to see. It nearly knocked me off my chair.’’

Councillors have noted his regular presence at meetings.

“They come up to me and say, hi, you’re here again, what’s going on,’’ Ricardo says.

“One of them even asked me if I was running for council, it may have been Bob Thompson.’’

♦ If you are interested in becoming a wildlife volunteer a  WIRES training course will be held on Saturday, July 30 at Hinchinbrook. For more information or to book email training@wires.org.au

♦ To report a koala or any injured wildlife contact:

WIRES 13 00 094 737

Sydney Wildlife 9413 4300

WIRES 24hr koala hotline 0466318688