A dog rescued a baby joey found in the pouch of the dead mother kangaroo, and brought it back to be cared for, according to the dog’s owner.
The dog, a short-haired pointer cross named Rex, was out with owner Leonie Allan, when he suddenly began to get agitated.
“He started pointing,” Allan told the Telegraph. “I was worried he’d found a snake and called him back, but when he returned he dropped the joey at my feet.”
According to the Telegraph, the joey was taken from the mother kangaroo, which was killed while crossing the road.
Allan recalled Rex gently carrying the four-and-half month old baby, careful not to injure or hurt it.
“He obviously sensed the baby roo was still alive in the pouch and somehow had gently grabbed it by the neck, gently retrieved it and brought it to me,” she said.
Allan also said that the animals afterwards began to play together, and show great affection.
The baby was taken to the Jirrahlinga Wildlife Sanctuary, where the kangaroo was named Rex Jr.
Most joeys whose mothers are killed by cars die in the same collision. Those who survive the impact are rarely able to fend for themselves outside the pouch and succumb soon after.
But the prospects of this kangaroo – named Rex junior after its saviour – are good. It will be hand-reared at a wildlife sanctuary until it is 18 months old, when it will be released into the wild.
Tehree Gordon, director of Jirrahlinga Wildlife Sanctuary, was amazed at the bond between the animals and said the fact Rex was so gentle with his younger namesake was proof that dogs – often criticised in Australia for killing native fauna – could live in harmony with local species if they were taught not to attack them.
“That Rex was so careful and knew to bring the baby to his owners, and that the joey was so relaxed and didn’t see Rex as a predator, is quite remarkable,” she said.
“It’s a lesson that dogs can be raised to be familiar and compatible with wildlife,” the UPI quoted sanctuary director Tehree Gordon. “You just have to teach them right from wrong.”
Rex Jr. will be let out into the wild when he turns 18 months. – Telegraph
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