Queanbeyan Police Stationโs newest recruit has been digging into some deskwork and helping claw back crime since joining the force last month.
Monaro Police Districtโs Senior Constable Tori Murray took in eight-month-old bare nosed wombat, Ted, after his mother was struck and killed by a car in late June.
Ted will remain in Senior Constable Murrayโs care for approximately 18 months until he is old enough to be returned to his natural habitat.
For the past five years, Senior Constable Murray has volunteered with Wildcare to help rescue, care for and rehabilitate injured native animals across the Monaro region.
Monaro Police Districtโs Inspector Charles Hutchins said having animals like Ted in the police station has been a rarity over his career in blue.
โI know at different police stations Iโve been at there might be a kangaroo joey that might appear once in a while,โ he said.
โThe officers at Queanbeyan have taken very positively to Ted. As you can appreciate, with a baby animal everyone is very nurturing and caring and very interested in the process he will undertake until heโs released back into the wild.
โIโm sure thereโs plenty of cuddles being passed around the office โฆ How can you not love a baby wombat?โ
On top of regular work duties, Senior Constable Murray bottle feeds Ted a special wombat formula up to four times a day.
โIf I was asked, Iโd definitely help out with a feed, but knowing Senior Constable Murray, she definitely takes those things seriously and sheโs definitely the sort of person that would be taking care of a lot of that sort of stuff,โ Inspector Hutchins said.
Given itโs currently school holidays, Inspector Hutchins stressed the importance of taking care on the roads and driving to conditions, not just for the sake of other road users, but for the safety of the local wildlife and livestock too.
โItโs school holidays now, with everyone travelling up and down the highways to the snow or down to the coast Iโd encourage people to drive to the conditions, be aware that there are animals on the road, whether theyโre wombats or kangaroos or local livestock.
โIf you see them, slow down and exercise caution and drive to the conditions, thereโs going to be snow on the roads, itโs going to rain,โ he said.
