Matilda to the rescue: mobile hospital rolls into Exmouth after cyclone devastation

A mobile wildlife hospital has been deployed to Exmouth, days after cyclone Narelle swept across WA’s north west coastline.

Hundreds of turtle hatchlings, dolphins, seabirds, sea snakes and reptiles were washed ashore after the system struck the State’s north-west in late March, peaking at category 4 near Exmouth with wind gusts above 250km/h and intense rainfall.

The storm also damaged the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef, killing many marine species and leaving others injured, malnourished and without habitat.

The region remains in urgent need of assistance as wildlife continues to wash up along the coast.

Stephen Van Mil, founder and director of Wildlife Recovery Australia, is one of those who has come to the rescue.

His team operates “Matilda”, a custom-built semi-trailer and Australia’s first fully equipped mobile wildlife hospital.

“Matilda is a genuine mobile veterinary hospital with absolutely everything that a gold-standard bricks-and-mortar veterinary hospital has,” Dr Van Mil said.

The team had just departed Kangaroo Island when they received an urgent call for help.

“Literally as we came off Kangaroo Island, I got a call from Exmouth,” he said. “The cyclone had just hit and we were asked to deploy there.”

After crossing the Nullarbor and briefly waiting in Perth for road access, the team arrived in Exmouth on Monday (March 30) night and immediately began treating injured animals.

“The scale of injured wildlife we’re seeing is confronting and deeply saddening,” Dr Van Mil said. “So many animals have been impacted at once and many urgently need veterinary care.

“But this is exactly why Matilda exists — she was designed to deploy rapidly into disaster zones and provide immediate aid where it’s needed most.

“While the circumstances are heartbreaking, being able to get on the ground quickly and make a real difference for these animals is incredibly motivating and we’re focused on giving them the best possible chance of recovery.”

Nearly two weeks on from when ex-tropical cyclone Narelle hit Exmouth , Carnarvon and Shark Bay have reopened to visitors, while Exmouth continues its recovery.

Cyclone Narelle dumped a year’s worth of rain on coastal communities in the space of a day, cutting power to hundreds of homes, flooding roads and destroying crops.

Residents have been warned the clean-up could take weeks.