Orphaned joey rescued from man who wanted to keep kangaroo as pet
An orphaned joey has been rescued in the middle of the night after a wildlife volunteer got a call from a man who wanted to keep the native animal as a pet.
Nicola Rae, who runs Amaroo Wildlife Shelter near Healesville in Victoria’s southeast, said a call came late on Tuesday night from a man asking what milk he could buy from convenience store 7-Eleven to feed a kangaroo joey.
“I explained in a clear, calm and kind way that wildlife can only be raised by licensed, trained wildlife carers who have specially formulated milks for each species that won't make them ill like the milks from a supermarket,” she described of the phone call.
The man told her his truck-driver friend was on the way to his place to drop off the little animal after he had run over the joey’s mother while driving near the border of NSW and Victoria.
The driver stopped and checked the kangaroo’s pouch and removed the joey, which would not have survived if it was left there.
“The man... would not give me the driver’s number so I could explain that the joey should go to a vet near by or wildlife shelter,” Ms Rae said.
The wildlife carer was eventually able to convince the man to let her and a colleague come to his place and take the joey once it arrived.
She described the pair venturing into Melbourne in the middle of the night to collect the joey.
“The person with her was mostly concerned about not being able to get photographs with the joey as she was so frightened and curled up in the sleeve of the coat,” Ms Rae said.
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“I explained that stress can kill wildlife and that taking lots of photos of her now after losing her mother was not a good idea and I would send some later on.”
The frightened joey named Mia was taken to Amaroo, where she has been resting and slowly getting used to her new life, Ms Rae told Yahoo News Australia on Thursday.
“She is an absolutely beautiful girl and indeed very lucky,” she said.
Rescued joey recovering well at wildlife shelter
Mia is feeding well and has even made a new joey friend, Clancy, who has been helping her adjust.
“Clancy has come to Amaroo from Access Wildlife shelter as a friend for Mia,” Ms Rae said.
“Today they went for a hoon in the big pen, she's nervous but getting more comfortable around me.”
Ms Rae said she had since sent pictures of the happy and safe joey to the man who called her.
A Queensland teenager was hailed a hero last year for keeping a joey warm overnight after finding the orphan in the pouch of a kangaroo that had been killed.
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