'Like a scene from Psycho': Kangaroo smashes through family's window
WARNING – DISTRESSING IMAGES: A disoriented kangaroo has left behind shocking scenes after it smashed through a bedroom window and jumped around a family’s home on Sunday.
The panic-stricken marsupial sustained numerous lacerations from the shattered glass and even broke a second window as it desperately tried to escape from the Melbourne property.
“He left each room looking like a scene from Psycho,” Five Freedoms Animal Rescue wrote on their Facebook page.
The animal eventually became exhausted and collapsed next to a toilet. The home’s occupants then closed the door and managed to call for help.
But it is believed the roo’s ordeal began well before he entered the Deer Park home.
Rescuers think the animal, now known as Norman Bates after the character in Psycho, jumped through the window and into the property as a “last resort.”
“We think Norman suffered terrible trauma even before his window ordeal as his toe nails are worn right down from pounding the pavement searching for an escape from suburbia,” Helen Round, a volunteer wildlife carer and rescuer for Five Freedoms Animal Rescue, told Yahoo7.
Norman was taken to Essendon Fields Animal Hospital, where his wounds were treated, which the rescue service said weren’t too bad considering the traumatic events.
However, there is now a concern Norman could develop a life-threatening muscle disease condition called myopathy.
“Kangaroos are prone to myopathy, which is similar to the collapse that some marathon runners suffer from, resulting in spasms, permanent muscle damage and even organ failure,” Ms Round explained.
The wildlife carer said it will take a few days to determine if Norman does have the life-threatening condition, and even if he doesn’t he will still remain in care for between 10 and 14 days.
The rescue service said more and more kangaroos are finding themselves in residential areas.
“Kangaroos are increasingly caught up in suburban areas as we continue to build new shopping centres, industrial zones and housing estates into the ever-diminishing areas that are traditionally home to kangaroo mobs,” the service wrote on Facebook.
“We are grateful that the residents had the sense to contain him in the toilet and that police referred the case to Wildlife Victoria, (who called us),” Ms Round said.
If anyone does encounter trapped, orphaned or injured animals in Victoria, Ms Round suggested they contact volunteer wildlife rescue groups, or Wildlife Victoria on 1300 094 535.
