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STORY: In a forest in southeastern Australia, Melina Budden is trailing a wombat named Hope.

:: Megalong Valley, Australia

The tiny marsupial is covered with mange, a parasitic skin disease.

Armed with medication, the conservationist tracks Hope down under a rock – where she is able to spray the treatment.

::Blue Mountains Conservation Group

Mange is caused by parasitic mites.

It’s a major cause of wombat mortality - and, Budden says, is threatening the survival of the species as climate change poses other dangers.

:: This Earth

In 2020, Budden founded the Blue Mountains Wombat Conservation Group.

Alongside several dozen volunteers, the group is on a mission to protect the emblematic animal.

When a sick wombat is found, the group ensures nearby burrows are treated.

:: Melina Budden, Blue Mountains Wombat Conservation Group

“We basically put this in the entry to their burrow, make sure they can’t get out either side, we put a sticker on here to warn the public that this is wombat medication and not to touch..." // "...We just put the meds into there and what happens is the wombat either comes out or in and it’ll start on the back of their neck and go all the way down their back and we do this once a week where we top up the medication, so once a week they get their 20mls of medication so they start to feel better.”

The work can be daunting.

Tracking and treating as many as 200 wombats per week is labor intensive.

::Blue Mountains Conservation Group

The same wombats often need to be sprayed every year, like Hope, who is now in her third year of treatment.

::Blue Mountains Conservation Group

“It’s a biosecurity issue. Look, at the end of the day, mange affects most mammals within Australia and it also affects the agricultural industry. Like it affects cows, it affects horses, it affects the farm dogs, the family dog.”

But Budden says the responsibility is falling on community groups like hers – who are overworked and are running on a volunteer basis.

"We either keep doing what we’re doing and essentially drive ourselves into the ground because we’re all doing this for free, or we stop and then it’s like, well they die. Neither is the best answer.”

Climate change is also a significant concern.

With the increasing number of floods, droughts, and bushfires in Australia, the animals' resilience is eroding.

It’s also making it harder for them to fight off diseases like mange.

“Originally I thought we were making a difference, but now I feel like we’re just on a merry-go-round. You can’t stop, you can’t just let something die a very slow and painful death and do nothing."