Good Samaritan Rescues Helpless Baby Kangaroo After It Is Left on the Side of the Road
Opportunities for heroism can arise at the most unexpected moments. One Australian man leapt into action when he spotted a baby kangaroo stranded on the side of the road.
Daniel Hurkenesis was riding his motorbike down a rural road in New South Wales when he noticed a group of kangaroos bounding by in the nearby grass.
Suddenly, he noticed that something was off about the scene: A baby kangaroo had fallen from his mother’s pouch.
His family, apparently unaware that the baby had fallen, continued traveling.
Rather than continue driving, Hurkenesis knew he had to do something to help the joey. He immediately parked his bike and climbed the fence separating the road from the paddock the baby was in.
The camera on his helmet captured the entire event.
“I could not leave the baby be and die by the elements or predators, I had to save it,” the man wrote in the caption of the video on YouTube.
Frightened, the joey squirmed as Hurkenesis cautiously approached but was too young to hop away on its own. The joey finally calmed enough to allow Hurkenesis to pluck him off the ground.
“I don’t know what to do with you,” Hurkenesis said. “Your mama doesn’t even know you’re gone.”
He attempted to set the joey back on the ground, but he soon realized that the baby was struggling to stand on its own and wouldn’t survive long in the wild without its mother.
“I can’t take you with me. Can I?” Hurkenesis asked.
Realizing he had no other choice, he unzipped his motorcycle jacket to craft a makeshift pouch for the joey to ride in.
“This is weird,” Hurkenesis said. “It’s the only thing I can think of.”
Although the method seemed unusual, the rescue effort was wise. National Geographic reports that kangaroos take longer than most mammals to fully develop and rely on their mothers for protection until their limbs are strong enough to support them. Rescued joeys must be kept in homemade pouches to grow properly without their mothers.
After securing the joey in his jacket, Hurkenesis returned to his bike and set off in search of an animal shelter. Joey in tow, he eventually arrived at a shelter nestled in the outback.
“You look like you’re pregnant!” The shelter owner joked upon his arrival.
The baby kangaroo was wrapped in a blanket and placed in a dog bed next to another rescued joey. According to Hurkenesis’ Instagram, the joey has been doing well since its arrival at the shelter.
Thanks to the selfless acts of a quick-thinking Good Samaritan, the baby will certainly receive proper love and care until it is strong enough to survive on its own.
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