Gundy the wombat has faced significant challenges in his short life. His mother was killed by a car in New South Wales' Hunter Valley last year when he was just five months old. Baby Gundy survived in his mother’s pouch and was rescued by Judith Hopper from Hunter Wildlife Rescue. "The little ones can live in the pouch for several days, so anybody that sees a dead [wombat] body and stops and checks … we can save the baby wombat," Hopper explained.

Initially, Gundy appeared to have no serious injuries, but he later developed neurological issues. Hopper noticed something was off when she observed Gundy walking. A subsequent assessment by animal ophthalmologist Kelly Caruso revealed that Gundy was blind. "He's a bit of a unique case because the eyes didn't look terrible, but testing showed there were no reflexes or responses," Caruso said. She suspects Gundy suffers from retinal degeneration due to oxygen deprivation, likely stemming from his traumatic start in life.

This diagnosis forced caregivers to rethink plans for Gundy's eventual release into the wild. "Releasing him into the wild would be quite catastrophic for him," Caruso stated. Tassin Barnard, who runs a wildlife sanctuary on the NSW Central Coast, decided to take Gundy in after learning he had nowhere else to go. "There's always somebody we can fit in who is desperate, usually a wild rescue who can't go back into the wild," Barnard noted.

Since arriving at the sanctuary, Gundy has become a popular attraction. Visitors often line up to pet him. Barnard remarked, "He was unusual in that he loved human contact because if he didn't … life for a blind wombat might not be great. But he loves people, loves hugs, loves cuddles."

Wildlife ranger Lauren Murphy has been caring for Gundy since his arrival two weeks ago. She incorporates daily walks into his routine to help him stay alert and familiarize himself with his surroundings. "We walk Gundy in a dog harness every morning, otherwise he just stays asleep all day and night," Murphy explained. Gundy often walks between her legs, mimicking a young wombat following its mother.

However, Gundy is still learning the layout of his enclosure. "He can sometimes walk off a ledge or bump into a fence," Murphy said. As summer approaches, new challenges may arise. "He doesn't tend to blink because his eyes don't work, so he can't blink the flies away," she added.

Hopper expressed gratitude that Gundy has a safe place to live. "He wasn't at all suitable for release and 99 percent of the time I'm dead against wombats in captivity because they need such a large amount of space," she said. "I hate seeing them in zoos and things, but Walkabout Sanctuary is rather a special place. It's been a really wonderful outcome for him … because otherwise he would have had to be euthanized."