Safety - Your own safety is most important, especially whilst checking the injured animal on the road.

1. Evaluate the situation and remove any immediate threat to the animal.
2. Make sure that your car is parked safely well off the road. It's not good saving an animal hit by a car if YOU get hit by another car!
3. If necessary, lock away dogs and cats (to alleviate stress) until a trained rescuer arrives.
4. You may need to ask someone to stop or divert traffic if the animal is on the road.

Airways & Breathing - Check that the animal is breathing.

1. If not breathing, open and inspect the mouth, remove any blood, vomitus or other obstruction as these may be preventing the animal from breathing freely.
2. If the animal is breathing, roll the animal onto their side to drain the airway. The mouth and nose should be pointing downwards, making sure that the head and neck are extended to allow a clear airway.
3. Be cautious of teeth. Even injured animals can bite!

Consciousness - Check responses by checking pulse or breath.

1. Place unconscious animals in a position with the head above the level of the stomach to prevent choking.

Circulation - Stop external bleeding.

1. Major arterial bleeding can be stopped by applying a pressure bandage. Make sure that it is not too tight so as to restrict the animal's breathing.
2. Internal bleeding is hard to stop, but if the animal is kept quiet and undisturbed, the normal clotting mechanism will take care of minor problems.
3. A needlessly struggling animal will have an increased blood pressure, producing more bleeding.

Maintain Body Temperature - Place the animal in a soft towel or cloth to keep it warm.

1. The fabric should be without holes as the animal may become entangled.
2. Gently place the animal in a box then place this box in a dark, quiet room - away from pets, TV, radio etc.
3. PLEASE - DO NOT DISTURB as stress associated with human contact can result in a sudden death.
4. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FEED! Wildlife diets are highly specialized and the wrong foods can cause illness or even death.

Seek Advice - If you live in Tropical North Queensland, you can call FNQ Wildlife Rescue on (07) 4053 4467. The Wildlife Rescue emergency number is manned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They will assess the animal and, depending on that assessment, advise you to take the animal to a vet or a wildlife foster carer.