A spotted quoll has been returned to the Tasmanian bush after an unusual 45-day stint at Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, following a messy rescue from a drum filled with garlic-infused olive oil.
The animal, affectionately named Scroll, was found at a cheese factory in the state’s south, having fallen into what sanctuary staff described as “a blend of olive oil, herbs and garlic”.
“I think he has probably smelt what he thought was going to be really delicious and has ended up in the oil,” Melissa Irons, owner of Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, told ABC Radio.
Unfortunately, the oily mishap left Scroll with aspiration pneumonia, a potentially life-threatening condition.
“Because it was a drum which had quite a bit of oil in it, he would have probably been struggling a little bit to get out of it and it would have been incredibly slippery,” Irons said.
“So that would have led to him ingesting and not voluntarily, quite a bit of it.”
Despite the seriousness of his condition, Scroll only needed two baths to get rid of the greasy coating.
The pneumonia, however, meant he had to stay at the sanctuary for over a month, undergoing treatment until vets were confident he was ready to return to the wild.
Irons said while quolls aren’t typically known for finding themselves in such situations, the sanctuary regularly receives calls about other native animals becoming trapped in various substances.
“It’s lots of different animals we have called in in these sorts of circumstances,” she said. “Brushtail possums actually are probably the one that comes to mind. They’re really cheeky and they’re always up to no good.”
Scroll was released just a few days ago, bringing a happy ending to what could easily have been a fatal foodie misadventure.
