Teens Dive Into Mud Pit To Save Scared Kangaroo
“The roo’s life was important to us so we went out on an arm and leg."
Two teenagers were riding their dirt bikes near Sydney, Australia, earlier this week when they saw something unusual sticking out of the mud: a head and two pointy ears.
Pulling up to get a closer look, Jack Donnelly and Nick Heath, both 19, were met with a heartbreaking sight. A kangaroo had wandered into the deep mud and was stuck neck-deep. He was exhausted from struggling to escape — and wouldn’t stop crying out.
The friends instantly knew he wouldn’t make it without their help. After rushing home for supplies, Heath wrapped a rope around his waist and waded into the thick mud as Donnelly kept a grip on the tether from solid ground.
The kangaroo was writhing and stressed — but instantly relaxed once Heath managed to pull him out.
“The roo’s life was important to us so we went out on an arm and leg,” Heath told TODAY. “We think he went searching for water there, and it was really muddy so he got himself really stuck.”
The kangaroo was clearly sick from not being able to access food or water while he was stuck, so the teens contacted WIRES Australian Wildlife Rescue right away.
The rescue staff needed to sedate the kangaroo to clean the thick coating of mud from his fur, and also give him fluids to treat dehydration.
“He was totally covered in thick clay, cold and exhausted,” a spokesperson for the rescue told The Dodo. “Once sedated, he was slowly warmed, then washed in tepid water to get rid of all [the] clay that was coating him, then warmed up again slowly to get his body temperature up and given warm fluids.”
Now, after being cleaned up, the kangaroo seems to be doing much better — though rescuers are still keeping an eye on him in case he starts showing any more serious effects from the stressful ordeal.
Although Heath showed up back home as covered in mud as the kangaroo was, he said he wouldn’t have done anything differently.
“It’s a pretty patriotic thing to do, and we feel proud,” Heath said. “If we saw something like that again, we’ll do it all over again.”