Wild Animals Shot With Air Rifle Rescued by Zoo: 'Extremely Saddening'

A trio of wild animals that had all been shot with air rifle pellets were rescued by a zoo in Australia within the space of three days. The Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital, located in eastern Australia's Sunshine Coast region, took in a common brushtail possum, a lace monitor and an osprey, all of which had previously been injured with projectiles fired from air rifles, the facility said in a statement. The first animal to be rescued by zoo officials was a Bonnie, a common brushtail possum. These animals are nocturnal marsupials found in Australia and New Zealand that live in urban areas, forests and woodlands, according to the Australian Museum. Officials with the Australia Zoo Rescue Unit found Bonnie with a skin disease and a severe injury to one of her eyes. When vets conducted an X-ray, they found that she had three air rifle pellets scattered throughout her body.

"Our team at the Wildlife Hospital was devastated to discover three lodged pellets," Ludovica Valenza, wildlife veterinarian and supervisor at the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital, said in the statement. In a video interview, Valenza said one of the bullets had shattered one of her forelimb bones and the bone has now healed around it, while the other two were found in her leg. The scans also revealed that Bonnie had a joey—an infant marsupial—in her pouch, which fortunately had not been harmed. Vets dubbed the joey "Jella." According to the video, vets treated her skin disease and were forced to remove her injured eye. They also took out one of the bullets but left the other two because they were in areas that should not affect her too much. "Bonnie and her joey Jella are rehabilitating in the Wildlife Hospital's ICU, and we hope that they are back in the wild upon a full recovery," Valenza said in the statement. A day after Bonnie was admitted to the hospital, the center took in a lace monitor that had just been hit by a car.

The lace monitor is the second-largest lizard in Australia, and among the largest in the world, with an average adult measuring around 4.9 feet in length, according to Auckland Zoo. These lizards are mildy venomous, like their close relative the Komodo dragon. When vets conducted an X-ray of the lizard, dubbed "Cruiser," they found that he too had also previously been shot with an air rifle. The lizard was suffering from a concussion and a fractured jaw but his condition has improved significantly since he was first admitted. The reptile will remain in the hospital until he can be released back into his natural habitat. "The Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital increasingly treats patients who have been injured from unintentional human causes such as being hit by a car or attacked by a domestic pet," Valenza said. "It is then extremely saddening to admit patients like Bonnie and Cruiser who were intentionally harmed in the wild, where they wouldn't be able to defend themselves," Valenza said.

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The day after, the hospital admitted another patient—an osprey nicknamed "Dino"—with a lodged air rifle pellet and neurological trauma. Unfortunately, due to the severity of his injuries, Dino had to be euthanized. A spokesperson for Australia Zoo told Newsweek that Dino had a pellet lodged in his leg, and the neurological trauma was unrelated to the projectile. Ospreys are large, long-winged hawks that measure around 26 inches in length and live along coastlines, as well as large interior waterways, in many parts of the world, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. Rewards of AU$1,000 (about $750) are being offered to information leading to the prosecution of those responsible for these illegal acts. The Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital has treated more than 110,000 animals since its establishment in 2002. Update 04/04/22, 9:26 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comments from an Australia Zoo spokesperson.