Georges Story  re starts October 2025

George, released in 2018 and now 10 years old, had been living a wild life, seen only on camera before his return to the nursery wombatorium in October 2025.

  He returns Limping along with one rear  leg tucked up against his tummy, he was in obvious pain. He was totally uninterested in being locked in an enclosure with pain relief, and proceeded to scream and bang on the gate. We lasted 6 hours before we gave in and let him go into the burrow below. Discussing with the vet George was described as a ‘non-compliant wild adult’, unsuitable for in-clinic examination hours away

 While his left rear leg was pulled up fully against his tummy, nothing felt broken or swollen. Once sitting, he could use it to scratch from his nose to his tail, which was very surprising. He came out of his burrow slowly feeding on the grass in the wombatorium and we supplied him with support feed, so we could add his pain relief. This avoids the need for injections, helping to reduce stress and keep him around. He would hobble out the wombat door to sit and gaze across the valley for a bit, then return to munch on the plentiful grass in the wombatorium. November saw him starting to weight bear and put foot down again, and by February there was barely a limp. By July there's no limp at all and he's been digging somewhere as he's covered in dirt whenever we do see him. Being able to give him the safe space, without being contained made it easer for George to take the time needed to recover without stress or excessive handling