'Looks like its heart has been cut out': Dead wallaby with gruesome injuries found in car park
WARNING - GRAPHIC IMAGES: A wallaby has been found in a public car park with a gaping hole in its chest, leaving locals shocked by the graphic display.
Residents in the Central Coast suburb of Pearl Beach made the grim discovery Saturday morning about 8am at a toilet block car park on the town’s main road.
Speaking with Yahoo News Australia, one witness said the native animal looked like “its heart has been cut out”.
Another witness was convinced the animal had been intentionally sliced open due to the clean-cut appearance of its wounds.
“It looks like it’s been deliberately done. What would have done that? It’s terrible. That’s (the work of) a knife isn’t it?” they said.
Gosford MP Liesl Tesch had just arrived at the beach for a morning swim when she noticed a crowd gathered around the wallaby, which she first thought was a kangaroo.
“It seemed like someone had cut it open maybe for dog meat, but it seemed more mysterious,” she told Yahoo News Australia.
Someone else also believed the gaping wound was the result of something far more sinister than a car accident.
“It didn’t look like it was a natural occurrence. It may have been hit by a car first. It just didn’t look like a natural wound from a car strike,” they said.
The speed limit for that particular stretch of road is 40km/ph.
The normally quiet, affluent family-friendly seaside community is set between the beach and the national park, about an hour and a half’s drive from Sydney.
One local claimed he saw a car stop at the scene about 7.30am and drive away, but he hadn’t thought anything of it until later noticing a large crowd forming.
Parents arriving at the beach were seen shielding their children from the disturbing display, as several locals waited with the carcass until police arrived.
Police on the scene believed the wallaby’s injuries were consistent with a car accident and were not investigating it further.
Photos indicated the body had been dragged over a small section of bitumen before being left on display for those visiting the beach.
RSPCA NSW has been contacted for comment.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, download the Yahoo News app from iTunes or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo’s daily newsletter. Sign up here.
