Volunteers from WIRES Illawarra have asked drivers to keep an eye out for wildlife on the roads, ahead of the holiday season.

WIRES receives many calls in the warmer months to help kangaroos, wallabies, wombats and possums that have been hit by cars, often leaving behind orphaned joeys.

Publicity officer Lyn Collard  is urging extra care, especially if  driving at night.

‘‘We want to make [people] aware that these animals are more active at night time, so the risk is much higher,’’ she said.

‘‘It’s important to know they may be feeding on the side of the road, and when they get scared it’s possible they may run out in front of a car.’’

Ms Collard also encouraged drivers to pull over if they see an animal in distress, asking people to check its pouch for joeys.

‘‘Joeys can live in a dead mother’s pouch for up to four days,’’ she said.

‘‘If the joey is uninjured and healthy, our success rate in raising them and releasing them back into the wild is high – it’s important to rescue them as soon as we can.’’

If you do find joeys, WIRES recommends they be wrapped  in a jumper or blanket for warmth and  kept  in a quiet, dark place until a carer can be found.

‘‘Joeys don’t show stress, but the impact, as well as the loss of mum and the strange smells and sounds, are sometimes enough for a joey to die of stress,’’ Ms Collard said.

To report any incidents, contact the WIRES hotline on 1300 094 737.