'They can take your eye out': Delicate rescue of kangaroo trapped in hidden mineshaft
When a Victorian man took his dog for a walk, he couldn’t have imagined his day would end in a “tug of war” with a kangaroo stuck down a hidden mineshaft.
Mark Firman, from Soldier’s Hill in Ballarat, almost gave his Sunday morning walk with his dog a miss as it was so cold, but Buddy was insistent.
“I was planning on going a different way, so it was just pure luck, we went down a rough, overgrown track,” he told Yahoo News Australia.
While their walk started like any other, Buddy started acting strangely and the loyal dog wouldn’t come when called.
Mr Firman said Buddy was persistent.
“He stopped and then took off to his right. I kept walking ‘cause I couldn’t see anything but grass and shrubs,” the dog owner said.
“Anyway, I keep walking and realise he’s not anywhere near me.”
Mr Firman has been walking in the Creswick State Forest, just outside of Ballarat, for 10 years and the abandoned mines have have always been a worry.
When Buddy didn’t return, Mr Firman went for a “stickybeak”, and found the pooch barking and doing laps around a tree.
He was aware Buddy was getting on in years and this unusual behaviour made him worry the dog had “gone crazy”.
After pushing his way through thick scrub, it soon became apparent what all the fuss was about – a big eastern grey kangaroo was stuck and half-submerged in a mineshaft full of water.
“It was a bit on the chilly size, the breeze had a bit of bite to it, so imagine how the bloody roo felt,” Mr Firman said.
Stuck three metres below the earth, there was no way he could get the animal out alone, so he called for help.
Dangers of rescuing stranded kangaroo
Following a call to BADGAR Emergency Wildlife Rescue, skilled rescuers Michael Sari and Gary Ward hiked through the bush with a stretcher, ladder, rope and a plan to hoist the kangaroo free.
“I was just home when I got the call and knew straight away it was going to be at least a two-man job,” Mr Ward told Yahoo News Australia.
At the mineshaft, there were clear signs of the kangaroo’s futile attempt at escape.
“He’d rounded-off the whole edge while trying to jump and pull himself out, but had only managed to scrape off the top edge with his foreclaws,” Mr Sari wrote.
When kangaroos are trapped they can become aggressive and Mr Ward has been chased by a few before while trying to help them.
“If they kick you in the right spot they can slice your neck apart or cut your stomach open or take your eyes out. You’ve got to be ready to get out the way,” he said.
Knowing the danger, Mr Ward climbed down into the pit with the kangaroo.
“It was quite a tight fit and the shaft was so tight the kangaroo couldn’t turn around into my direction. I felt safe that he wouldn’t try and defend himself and attack me,” he said.
Mr Ward described the freezing conditions inside the mineshaft.
“I stood in the foot-and-a-half deep mud and put a noose around his body. It was raining at the time. It was about probably 6 or 7 degrees,” the rescuer said.
As Mr Sari and Mr Firman began hauling on the rope to pull the roo out of the pit, the hour-long struggle between men and beast began.
“He was a big bugger too, didn’t realise how big he was until I started pulling him out,” Mr Firman marvelled.
With the added weight of mud and water, the rescuers estimated the roo’s total weight to be at least 80kg.
“It was genuinely a tug of war to get this roo elevated,” Mr Sari quipped.
Only 50 per cent chance of survival for roo
Mr Sari was ecstatic to have the kangaroo on dry land, but he knew “the mission wasn’t over“.
His fellow rescuer, Mr Ward, only gave the roo a 50 per cent chance of survival.
“When they get to that stage of hyperthermia and shock they just give up,” he said.
Given the state of the sodden track, the rescuers had parked 100m away, so they secured the animal to a stretcher and carried him back.
Mindful that the frightened animal was becoming increasingly stressed, the rescuers had no choice but to put him in their vehicle and transport the trembling creature half an hour up the highway to Hepburn Wildlife Shelter.
At the shelter, volunteers washed him down with warm water to raise his body temperature, and then wrapped him in blankets.
Mine shafts: Hidden deathtraps
Given Ballarat’s history as a mining hub, the area is littered with mines and Mr Ward gets at least three calls a year to rescue native animals trapped in them.
“There are thousands of these types of mineshafts littered around the goldfields that are deathtraps waiting to happen,” he warned.
When walking his dog, Mr Firman has always treaded carefully but will be extra cautious in future.
“I worry about mineshafts with the dog. There are holes that are 20 or 30 metres deep – some are just dead flat on the ground and you really don’t see them,” Mr Firman said.
He told Yahoo News Australia there was no signage in the area warning about the mines and a person could fall and never be heard from again.
“I’ve never seen anyone doing any work on any old mineshafts,” Mr Firman said.
As for the kangaroo, he was said to be doing much better on Monday morning and was even standing up.
The rescue team have high hopes for the roo, but have ongoing concerns about the danger unkept mineshafts pose.
A Parks Victoria spokesperson said people should be wary as there were “thousands of old mine shafts across Victoria’s historic gold-mining areas”.
“Whenever people are out in national parks and reserves, they should remain on formed tracks, be aware of their surroundings, and where permitted keep their dog on a leash,” the spokesperson said.
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