“Such a chance encounter!”
In a state forest on the outskirts of Maryborough, Australia, a kangaroo peered up from where she was trapped. The kangaroo had fallen into an abandoned mineshaft and was then hopelessly stuck.
The animal’s luck was about to change thanks to a man named Simon, who was riding his bike in the area when he noticed the kangaroo gazing up at him from down below. Simon and his wife, Nikki, quickly contacted experts at Central Goldfields Wildlife Rescue. Soon, help was on the way.
“The ‘roo was so lucky that Simon was there and looking around,” India Armstrong of Central Goldfields Wildlife Rescue told The Dodo. “Such a chance encounter!”
Waning light didn’t deter rescuers from taking action. With help from a member of Snake Valley Wildlife Shelter, the team safely sedated the kangaroo. Then they lowered a ladder into the pit and began their descent.
Finally close to the ‘roo, rescuers were amazed to realize she’d been hiding something — there was a little joey nestled in her pouch.
Rescuers gently contained the joey as they worked to place his mom in a kangaroo bag and pull her up to safety.
With Mama and joey back on solid ground, rescuers gave each animal a health check. The team was relieved to find that neither had sustained any serious injuries during the fall. The little family was ready to return to the wild.
Rescuers waited for the mother’s sedative to wear off. Just after midnight, the mother kangaroo began to wake up. She slowly got her balance, found her baby and hopped off into the bush, surely grateful to be out of harm’s way.
Armstrong was so glad that the rescue had reached such a happy conclusion.
“All the hard work paid off,” Armstrong said. “They were finally safe!”