In the quiet paddocks of Gippsland, where the gum trees lean into the wind and the paddocks glow gold at dusk, one man has become an unlikely national treasure. Josh Neille, better known across Australia as The Wombat Guy, has built a life around the animals most people only glimpse on road signs. His days are a blur of bottle feeds, burrow building, emergency rescues & the kind of chaos only a mob of wombats can create. And somehow, through all of it, he’s managed to turn his small wildlife sanctuary into a beacon of hope for a sector stretched to breaking point.

The Accidental Wildlife Warrior

Josh never set out to become a public figure. He simply started caring for injured and orphaned wildlife because someone had to. Over time, the calls kept coming. A joey found beside a road, a wombat with mange, a bird tangled in fencing. He took them all in. What began as a few rescues soon grew into a full-scale wildlife rehabilitation property, complete with soft-release enclosures, specialised care rooms & a paddock full of animals who seem to think Josh is just another oversized marsupial.

His daughter Ashlee is often by his side, bottle in hand, giggling as wombat joeys tumble over her boots. Together, they’ve created a sanctuary that’s as much about heart as it is about habitat. Their work is raw, emotional & often exhausting, but it’s also deeply joyful. And that joy is what has captured the attention of millions.

Ashlee: The Wombat Whisperer

No story about the sanctuary is complete without mentioning Ashlee (Josh and Amber’s daughter) and a rising force in Australian wildlife care. While most kids her age are still figuring out what they want to be, Ashlee already handles reptiles with a confidence and ease that would put many seasoned carers to shame. She can wrap a wombat around her finger in seconds, not through force, but through a gentle understanding of animal behaviour that seems to come naturally to her. With more knowledge about Australian native animals than most adults, she’s fast becoming a bright star in Australia’s wildlife future. Whether she’s calming a cranky blue-tongue, bottle-feeding a joey, or teaching a young wombat how to dig, Ashlee brings a spark of joy and a sense of purpose that lifts the whole sanctuary.

The Kangaroo Whisperer Behind the Scenes

While Josh is often the face of the sanctuary, anyone who’s spent time on the property knows there’s another calm, steady force keeping everything running smoothly. His wife, Amber. Known affectionately as the “kangaroo whisperer”, Amber has an uncanny ability to soothe even the most anxious joeys. Where Josh brings the energy, Amber brings the quiet magic. She’s the one who can settle a trembling rescue with a single gentle touch, the one who knows every joey’s quirks & the one who somehow manages to keep the household functioning while bottle feeds & rescues roll on around her. Her presence is woven through the sanctuary’s heartbeat - steady, patient & full of love for the animals who need it most.

Going Viral Without Trying

Josh’s rise to online fame wasn’t planned. He simply started sharing snippets of daily life: a wombat racing through the hallway, a wallaby learning to hop again, an emu poking its beak into the camera. The videos were honest, unpolished & full of the kind of warmth that can’t be faked. Before long, they were being shared across the world.

People fell in love with the chaos! The wombats knocking over laundry baskets, the joeys demanding cuddles, the emus behaving like feathered toddlers. But they also connected with the deeper message: wildlife care is hard, relentless & desperately under-resourced. Josh’s videos didn’t just entertain - they educated. They showed the reality behind the cuteness, the midnight feeds, the medical treatments, the heartbreak of losing an animal despite doing everything right.

A Voice for a Sector in Crisis

As Josh’s platform grew, so did his sense of responsibility. He began speaking openly about the national shortage of wildlife carers, a crisis that has left many regions struggling to cope with rising rescue numbers. Carers are volunteers. They’re unpaid, often unsupported & expected to fund food, medicine, enclosures and fuel out of their own pockets. Many burn out. Many walk away.

Josh refuses to. Instead, he uses his voice to highlight the cracks in the system. He talks about the emotional toll, the financial strain & the urgent need for more hands-on deck. He’s become a spokesperson not because he wanted the role, but because the animals needed someone who wouldn’t sugar-coat the truth.

The Hobby Farm

On his property, every animal has a story. Some arrive injured from cars. Others are orphans, found beside the bodies of their mothers. Some come in with mange, a devastating parasitic disease that can spread rapidly through wombat populations. Josh treats them all with the same mix of tenderness & tough love.

The Hobby Farm includes purpose-built enclosures for soft release, allowing animals to transition back into the wild at their own pace. There are heated rooms for tiny joeys, outdoor spaces for growing wombats to dig & explore and paddocks where emus & wallabies roam freely. It’s a place built not from government grants or corporate budgets, but from determination, community support and the occasional miracle.

From Sanctuary to Storybook

Josh’s work has now leapt from the paddock to the page. His book, Growing Up Wombat captures the heart of his mission, the bond between carers and the animals they raise. The lessons learned from living alongside creatures who don’t understand schedules and the deep sense of purpose that comes from giving wildlife a second chance.

The book is warm, funny and full of the kind of stories only someone who has had a wombat chew through their floorboards could tell. It’s also a celebration of resilience ... both human and animal.

Community Support & the Power of Visibility

As Josh’s profile has grown, so has the support for his sanctuary. Local businesses, volunteers & everyday Australians have stepped up to help fund enclosures, supply feed and keep the operation running. His partnership with organisations that champion wildlife care has helped shine a light on the broader challenges facing carers nationwide.

But Josh is quick to remind people that he’s not a hero. He’s just doing what needs to be done. The real heroes, he says, are the animals who fight their way back from injury, illness or trauma. He’s simply the bloke who gives them the chance.

A Future Built on Hope (and Wombats)

Looking ahead, Josh dreams of expanding the sanctuary, training new carers & continuing to advocate for better support across the sector. He wants to see a future where wildlife care isn’t a financial burden, where carers are recognised for their essential work, and where every injured animal has somewhere safe to land.

Until then, he’ll keep doing what he does best - rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing the animals that make Australia unique. And if a few more wombats end up chewing on his furniture along the way, well … that’s just part of the job.

The Wombat Guy’s Legacy

Josh Neille didn’t set out to become a symbol of Australian wildlife care, but that’s exactly what he’s become. Through honesty, humour & a whole lot of heart, he’s shown the country what it really takes to protect our native animals. He’s inspired new carers, rallied communities and reminded Australians that wildlife isn’t just part of the landscape ... it’s part of who we are.

And as long as there are wombats needing help, Josh will be there - muddy boots, open arms and a heart big enough to hold a whole mob of them.