By KATHRYN BERMINGHAM
Tranquilised in a Pakenham backyard and taken to animal shelter…
WILDLIFE Victoria hopped to the rescue of a kangaroo stuck in a Pakenham backyard on Tuesday.
At noon a medium-sized kangaroo hopped into the backyard of Ashley Oates’ Balmoral Way property. After reporting the roo to Wildlife Victoria, he waited out the afternoon until a rescue team arrived that evening about 7.30pm.
The kangaroo was tranquilised and taken to a Belgrave shelter, where it will spend the next few days recovering before being released back into the wild.
Wildlife Victoria says that incidents involving kangaroos in suburban areas are a growing problem around Melbourne.
Wildlife Victoria spokesperson Amy Amato said the main reason for this was a rise in population in these areas.
“Several factors contribute to this problem, but the main cause is the substantial increase in human population which has resulted in a doubling of the number of calls concerning kangaroos since December 2012,” she said.
“This is both a public health issue and a wildlife welfare issue that Wildlife Victoria is left to deal with on a daily basis, including the growing cost of darting these animals to enable their safe management.”
The cost of darting animals is around $150,000 per annum, covered by donations by the public to Wildlife Victoria.
The number of kangaroos and wallabies reported to Wildlife Victoria on Tuesday totalled 36, with the average number of daily reports standing at 17.4. This includes a significant number involved in collisions with cars.
Though rarely seen in suburban areas, kangaroos are common in Pakenham areas adjoining bushland.
Earlier this year, about 100 kangaroos were saved after a permit to cull the animals from Bayles Fauna Park was revoked. The cull was initially planned to deal with concerns about overpopulation.
Domestic animals and cars have the potential to cause great danger to kangaroos venturing into built-up areas.
Ashley said it was fortunate that his two large dogs were inside at the time the kangaroo jumped into his backyard.
“I’m sure there would have been a confrontation, so it was just lucky that they weren’t outside and nothing happened.”
He believes the kangaroo had hopped into his backyard in search of fresher grass.
“You do tend to see them a bit more this time of year, coming out of the bush looking for greener grass.”
The public can report animals that are injured or in distress to Wildlife Victoria on 1300 094 535.
