In early August, a kind-hearted local spotted a young male kangaroo at a school oval in Lilydale. A cable tie was wrapped tightly around his neck. The local managed to get within five metres of him before he moved off with his mob.
That evening, our rescuers Dr Alistair and Oscar headed out to help. But the mob was hard to approach, and in the fading light the poor kangaroo couldn’t be found. But the Vets for Compassion team didn’t give up. They returned the next afternoon, and again the following morning. Again, there was no sign of the kangaroo who so desperately needed our help.
A few nights later, Oscar returned once more and finally spotted him, 30 metres away. He phoned Dr Andrea, who came straight over to carefully dart the kangaroo from 25 metres away.
With the kangaroo safely sedated, rescuer Oscar removed the cable tie and Dr Andrea gave him a full vet check. Once the sedation wore off, he hopped straight back to his mob, free at last.
Moments like this are only possible because people take the time to look out for animals in need, and because our dedicated volunteer vets and rescuers keep showing up, night after night, until the job is done.
Huge thanks to the local who first spotted him, and to our rescuer Oscar and vets Dr Alistair and Dr Andrea for their persistence.
Even though all our rescuers and vets are volunteers, it costs a lot of money to rescue and treat sick and injured animals. Will you help keep our teams on call 24/7, ready to help every animal who needs us?