Kangaroo Rescue Centre

Joey's Ready for a Ride Home

Alice Springs is home to the Kangaroo Rescue Centre. Driving through the outback I was amazed to see so many dead Kangaroos at the side of the road. Rental companies urge tourists to avoid driving at night and early mornings as this is when the majority of Kangaroos are hit. Cars are often written off, due to the size of the Kangaroos, males grow to over 2 metres high. Unfortunately female Kanagaroos are often hit while they are carrying a joey in their pouch. The Kangaroo Rescue Centre in Alice Springs was set up to take in joeys that survived car crashes their mothers didn't. It is also the goal of the centre to educate people. If you see a Kangaroo at the side of the road, they want you to check the pouch (if there is one) for a joey. They urge drivers to carry an empty pillow case, this can act as a surrogate pouch. Most towns in the outback have someone who will be willing to nurse the joey back to health. Nursing a Joey We arrived at the centre in time for the Joey's feeding. I noticed the owner nursing a Joey and thought it a bit gross he had most of his own lunch around his mouth, but then felt awlful when I realised he let the Joey's take milk from his mouth. In all my travelling, I've never felt so sick!
Sian and I both agreed they do excellent work at the centre, but neither of us could imagine taking a look inside a dead Kangaroo's pouch.

Sian eating Kangaroo Curry with no remorse, later that day.
I've uploaded a video to this post, but I don't think the link is working. It has uploaded to my vimeo account (right hand side) and shows a Joey preparing for bed.