Latest news with #kangaroo
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Tradie's thoughtless act leads to painful incident near building site
WARNING - DISTRESSING IMAGES: A thoughtless act by tradies has led to an iconic Australian animal being impaled on a steel spike. Disturbing photos taken next to a building site in Melbourne's southeast show a thick, rusted rebar sticking through the body of a young kangaroo. The tiny wild animal was unusually calm when she was discovered by a passerby on the weekend in the outer suburb of Officer. When wildlife rescuer Sarah Cooke got the call, she had hoped the roo was simply caught in a string of abandoned wire, so she brought along a pair of bolt cutters. 'Where those rebars are, there's runoff, like a drain. And builders in the area look to have just dumped crap there,' she told Yahoo News. Related: Anger in Aussie tourist region after council kangaroo ban rejected Cooke volunteers at Wildlife Incident Safe Haven (WISH) where she rescues and cares for native animals. As you would expect, she regularly sees terrible situations, but the little kangaroo's predicament was one of the worst. 'I went straight over and stabilised her, so she couldn't move much. I sedated her so I could safely get her off. Ideally, I would have cut the rebar, but it was too thick, and an angle grinder would have caused too many sparks,' Cooke said. 'Glimmer of hope' as kangaroo removed from bar There was little blood or smell, leading her to suspect the rebar had missed the kangaroo's vital organs. As Cooke removed her from the rebar, it became clear how the unfortunate incident had occurred. 'I realised she must have somehow gone to jump the rebar, and her pouch has gotten caught. So she's just dropped straight on it, and it's gone through her pouch and then come up next to her leg, beside her hip bone,' Cooke said. 'I was holding out a glimmer of hope that if there was just muscle damage, she might pull through.' After the kangaroo was taken to specialist medical staff an hour away at Healesville Sanctuary, hope began to fade. The rust and dirt on the bar had contaminated the youngster's body, creating a risk of infection, and the muscle on her hip had been damaged. 'Even if she had survived and healed, she wouldn't have been able to keep up with the mob. She would have been able to hop for 20 or 30 minutes and then need to rest for days,' Cooke said. 'It would be different if we could pop her into care for the rest of their life, we could manage that pain if we could have her as a pet. But we can't legally do that.' After she was euthanised, a necropsy of her body revealed there was more damage than originally thought. Not only were multiple muscle bundles severed, there was a slight tear in her abdominal cavity. Dumped rubbish also posed danger to nearby families Dumping of rubbish is becoming a major issue in Australia, with Yahoo publishing multiple reports of building waste abandoned on public land around the country. Cooke has a simple message to anyone looking to cut corners and leave their waste behind for someone else to clean up. 'That could have been a kid, someone's pet. Right behind where the kangaroo was found is an empty paddock next to a housing estate with families,' she said. 'It's not fair. It's not hard to clean up. At least if you're going to leave crap lying around, make it so no one is going to get caught.' Photos show huge problem facing Australia's fastest growing city Calls for action as road safety project remains incomplete after five years Confronting photos expose $2.3 million hidden reality in affordable housing race Cooke plans to report the dumping site to local authorities. In an impassioned post to social media, she shared details of the incident, not to make the general public sad, but to highlight the trauma rescuers experience every day. "The things we see [are] absolutely so traumatic, and it can take a big toll. I have become very stoic over the years... But it still hits us, it still hurts, it still keeps us up at night, it still runs through our head on a daily basis on [whether] we made the right decision," she wrote. "And it still god damn hurts like hell." Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Yahoo
Aussie publican receives death threats after filming controversial act with kangaroo
A tiny Aussie pub has sparked an online uproar after it filmed and shared two videos showing a controversial encounter with a kangaroo. The first is captioned 'This guy wanted to punch on this morning' and shows a large male eastern grey kangaroo at the edge of a creek, appearing scared and shaking its head as a dog barks from behind the camera. In the second video, the animal is compared to Bruce Lee because it uses a paw to deflect a stick thrown in the direction of its head. Since Thursday, the post has attracted close to 500 comments, with some respondents concerned about the presence of the dog, and others outraged by the throwing of the stick. 'The poor roo is terrified,' one person wrote. 'Not remotely funny,' another person added. 'Leave him alone,' someone else said. The Kevington Hotel is located on the banks of the Goulburn River in Victoria's northeast. It's publican Daryl said he just posts "different sh**" that happens in the bush that city-folk would be unlikely to see, and that's why he chose to share the kangaroo video. He told Yahoo News he was surprised by how quickly the situation escalated and that some of the responses have unsettled him. He claims to have received an angry phone call from an anonymous number, along with multiple threats to his life. 'There's been three or four death threats, there have been a couple of threats to burn the pub down with us in it, and there's been one to bash me… It's getting a bit ridiculous when someone threatens to kill your family. I mean, over throwing a stick at a kangaroo,' he said. Publican claims kangaroo video taken out of context While the videos themselves are unsettling to watch, Daryl argues his detractors have taken them out of context. He said he ventured down to the creek after he heard his dog barking and then called it away from the kangaroo. He claims to have had the kangaroo's own welfare in mind when he tried to scare it off from an area close to a campground where families camp with their dogs. He's formed an opinion that large males can become very aggressive when they're living close to human settlements. And he doesn't want a repeat of what occurred at a nearby property last year, when a kangaroo was shot because it was considered a risk to a woman and her dog who lived there. 'What I've done with this kangaroo is, yes, I threw a stick at it. I didn't hit the kangaroo. And the whole reason to do that was to scare it off, back into the bushland, which is behind us, so it can live for the rest of its life. And the job's been done. It hasn't come back,' he said. 'If they become a pest, they always get put down, and I don't want that to happen.' 🐳 Major change seen off Australia's coast linked to 'worrying' event 🌏 Irreplaceable 6.5-hectare forest protected for future generations 🚨 Warning signs placed around Australian shopping centre after mass poisoning Daryl said he's got a soft spot for kangaroos and doesn't even serve their meat at his pub. He claims to have saved at least three joeys from the side of the road after their mothers were hit and killed on roads, and to have euthanised multiple injured kangaroos with broken legs. 'I absolutely love and adore our native wildlife… Anyone who wants to take what I've done out of context is just a complete and utter twat,' he said. Concern viewers could copy publican's behaviour The internet is awash with controversial videos of people encountering Australia's wildlife, and social media companies like Facebook have historically refused to remove them. Daryl said he hates seeing animal cruelty videos, and concedes he was a 'little light on strategy' when he shared his own videos of the kangaroo without context. Alyssa Wormald from the Victorian Kangaroo Alliance, a non-profit that advocates for the animals, said 'the best thing' Daryl could now do is delete the controversial video. She is concerned people watching it could assume throwing a stick at a kangaroo is an 'acceptable interaction' and decide to copy the behaviour. 'Despite his intentions, it is cruel,' she said. Not only was Wormald 'appalled' by the stick throwing, she has concerns about the prolonged stress the kangaroo was under due to the presence of the barking dog. Kangaroos are not known to be aggressive to dogs unless they are feeling cornered and defend themselves. High levels of stress can result in a condition called stress myopathy, which leads to muscle degeneration and a slow death. In her opinion, the better option would have been to control the dog and then walk away 'slowly and calmly'. 'Kangaroos usually bound away from people when they are given plenty of space and an exit route,' she said. 'Even if he did scare the kangaroo into the bush, he will likely come back anyway if that is where the food is.' Wormald and her family share their property with a large old male kangaroo, and she feels 'blessed' to have him there. 'They are such special animals and deserve our respect,' she said. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
Daily Mail
06-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Theory emerges about what caused triple-fatal crash in country Victoria
Three people are dead and another has been critically injured after a horror crash on a regional road that police suspect might have been caused by a kangaroo. The collision involving two SUVs occurred about 7.20am on Sunday on Bolinda-Darraweit Road in the Macedon Ranges, northwest of Melbourne. The triple fatality brought the number of lives lost on Victorian roads in 72 hours to six, prompting renewed warnings from authorities. Three people travelling in one SUV died at the scene, while two others involved in the crash were taken to hospital, one of whom had life-threatening injuries. A dead kangaroo was found near the scene, with police looking into whether one of the SUVs had veered to avoid it. 'It appears one of the vehicles has veered into incoming traffic ... and they've collided head-on, which has caused the catastrophic scene,' Senior Sergeant Ben Morris told reporters. 'We're not 100 per cent sure ... we're still working through the scene to confirm the involvement of the animal.' A motorist died hours later after a head-on collision on the Western Highway in Buangor, about 181km west of Melbourne. Police were called to the scene after a car reportedly veered onto the wrong side of the freeway and collided with another vehicle. The driver of the first car died at the scene and has yet to be formally identified. The second car's driver was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, while a female passenger was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries. In a separate incident on Saturday night, a rider died and another is fighting for life after a crash involving two motorcycles and two vehicles on the Western Freeway at Grangefields, near Melbourne. A 16-year-old boy died in the city's east on Friday after being hit by a car, while an e-bike rider was critically injured in Geelong. Road Policing Command Superintendent Justin Goldsmith said most of the serious collisions at the weekend were on regional roads. 'Every life lost is one too many,' he said. 'What we have seen this weekend has been devastating and there are many families whose lives have changed forever as a result of the trauma on our roads.' Ambulance Victoria CEO Jordan Emery described the fatalities and injuries as the most horrific of circumstances. 'As a paramedic, I realise that these events are part of our job, but the tragic loss of life through road trauma is especially tough,' he said.'If there is one message we can send, it's to please take care when on the road. The impact is felt well beyond those behind the wheel.' There have been 156 lives lost on Victorian roads this year, 15 more than the same time in 2024.
Daily Mail
06-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Kangaroo on road could have caused triple-fatal crash
Three people are dead and another has been critically injured after a horror crash on a regional road that police suspect might have been caused by a kangaroo. The collision involving two SUVs occurred about 7.20am on Sunday on Bolinda-Darraweit Road in the Macedon Ranges, northwest of Melbourne. The triple fatality brought the number of lives lost on Victorian roads in 72 hours to six, prompting renewed warnings from authorities. Three people travelling in one SUV died at the scene, while two others involved in the crash were taken to hospital, one of whom had life-threatening injuries. A dead kangaroo was found near the scene, with police looking into whether one of the SUVs had veered to avoid it. 'It appears one of the vehicles has veered into incoming traffic ... and they've collided head-on, which has caused the catastrophic scene,' Senior Sergeant Ben Morris told reporters. 'We're not 100 per cent sure ... we're still working through the scene to confirm the involvement of the animal.' A motorist died hours later after a head-on collision on the Western Highway in Buangor, about 181km west of Melbourne. Three people died after two vehicles crashed in the Macedon Ranges, northwest of Melbourne Police were called to the scene after a car reportedly veered onto the wrong side of the freeway and collided with another vehicle. The driver of the first car died at the scene and has yet to be formally identified. The second car's driver was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, while a female passenger was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries. In a separate incident on Saturday night, a rider died and another is fighting for life after a crash involving two motorcycles and two vehicles on the Western Freeway at Grangefields, near Melbourne. A 16-year-old boy died in the city's east on Friday after being hit by a car, while an e-bike rider was critically injured in Geelong. Road Policing Command Superintendent Justin Goldsmith said most of the serious collisions at the weekend were on regional roads. 'Every life lost is one too many,' he said. 'What we have seen this weekend has been devastating and there are many families whose lives have changed forever as a result of the trauma on our roads.' Ambulance Victoria CEO Jordan Emery described the fatalities and injuries as the most horrific of circumstances. 'As a paramedic, I realise that these events are part of our job, but the tragic loss of life through road trauma is especially tough,' he said. 'If there is one message we can send, it's to please take care when on the road. The impact is felt well beyond those behind the wheel.' There have been 156 lives lost on Victorian roads this year, 15 more than the same time in 2024.
Daily Mail
02-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Heartbreaking explanation for a kangaroo filmed acting erratically on the side of a highway
Confronting footage has emerged of a kangaroo suffering from a fatal condition after eating a certain type of weed introduced from Europe. Kangaroos across NSW, Victoria and South Australia have been dying from 'Phalaris staggers' which is a neurological condition that causes tremors and makes them lose their balance and collapse. Phalaris Aquatica is a crop grown to feed cattle and farmers can administer cobalt to their animals to protect them against the effects of Phalaris, but kangaroos are not given the preventative measure. After eating the grass, kangaroos become confused, disoriented and can be seen staggering around and shaking their heads. Leoni Sorrentino, from the volunteer group Wildlife Rescuers, told Daily Mail Australia that the problem had been around since the grass was introduced in the 19th century. She said the kangaroos affected suffer tremendously after eating the weed. 'They just get worse and end up having a horrific death,' she said. 'We're not allowed to relocate them so it makes it really hard.' Ms Sorrentino said kangaroos are most at risk of coming across the weed in times of drought, bushfires and in the cooler months from April to September. She alone had to euthanise eight kangaroos last week and said she heard of another group who had to put down six more animals. 'This year has been the worst since I've been a rescuer,' she said. 'It's quite a hardy weed. Even in bushfires, it will grow before anything else grows. The roots are sweet so they continue to keep eating them. 'There's been no tests done on how it affects them, neurologically, so we don't know if it passes to joeys through mum's milk because they're coming in sick as well.' Ms Sorrentino said the condition affected kangaroos so badly that they didn't know what was going on around them. 'It's to the point that they have no idea that anyone is standing near them and that's how we're able to grab them,' she said. 'Some are too far gone and they're just laying on the ground. They're just fox bait, unfortunately.'
