In the small village of Imman Valley in southern Australia, a couple live with a dog. One day they discover a small lump of fur next to the dog’s bed.
Has their dog perhaps pulled out his own hair? Not at all. The lump is something completely different.
What is a bilchbeutler?
That hairy something next to the dog’s bed is a dormouse: a marsupial from the possum family.
Even an adult dormouse is only 7 to 13 centimetres long and weighs no more than 50 grams.
The animal next to the dog bed is even smaller, because it is a baby.
As the couple have no experience in caring for small marsupials, they do the only right thing and inform the experts from the Wildlife Welfare Organisation.
The employees hand over the tiny animal to Gayl Males, who professionally cares for wild animals in need.
Good prospects
Maybe it’s Gayl’s experience or maybe he’s just a positive thinker. In any case, he is certain that his little protégé will pull through.
„She was unharmed and definitely a good candidate to raise and then release back into the wild“,
he says later about the little Bilchbeutler girl.
He was right. Initially, he feeds the little one with substitute milk, as she would still drink milk from her mum at this age.
Gayl uses a syringe to feed her. Soon she is also given other food.
He can practically watch his young protégé grow, but of course only within the limits of the species. Even when fully grown, it will remain a tiny creature.
The gentle reintroduction
It takes five weeks until the little dormouse is big enough to be released into the wild. Gayl opts for the gentle method.
His little friend should be gradually prepared for an independent life and not simply left to her own devices.
He places her in a small box with plenty of native flowers and some nectar. One day she disappears and Gayl is delighted. He has fulfilled his task.
Source: The Dodo
