Patterns and drivers of wildlife rescue incidents involving native marsupials in Victoria (2020–25)

Wildlife Victoria (WV) provides emergency response services for injured, sick or orphaned wildlife across the state of Victoria, Australia. Using 6 years of WV case data (January 2020–December 2025), this paper presents trends in marsupial rescue requests to identify spatial, seasonal and cause-related patterns. A total of 209,559 marsupial cases across 42 species were recorded. Case numbers increased annually, with the most frequent species being eastern grey kangaroos, common ringtail possums and common brushtail possums. Vehicle collisions represented the predominant cause of rescue cases (33.83%), followed by ‘found on ground’ and injury-related cases. Geographic distribution showed concentration in peri-urban municipalities near Melbourne. The analysis underscores growing wildlife–human interactions and highlights the need for coordinated data collection and management frameworks linking rescue, conservation and policy.