A kangaroo stuck down an old mineshaft has been saved thanks to the efforts of two passersby and wildlife rescuers on Thursday night.
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The passersby James Taylor and Matt Lucas had been exploring the Nerrina Goldfields when they heard noises from a nearby mine shaft.
When they peered down they discovered an Eastern grey kangaroo was trapped about 20-feet below with no way to escape and called the wildlife emergency line.
BADGAR Wildlife Rescue volunteers Gary Ward, Leanne Brasher and Michael Sari made up the small team who came to save the kangaroo.
Mr Sari said after negotiating four-wheel-drive tracks and hiking 90-metres to the location, they started the operation about 6.30pm and worked through to midnight.
“The first thing we did was have a look at what situation the kangaroo was in and she seemed to be alright,” he said.
“Since the mine shaft was near the edge of a gully we worked out that a tunnel, maybe six foot long going in to try and meet up with the bottom of the shaft, was probably the most feasible and quickest way to get help to her.”
Mr Sari said a crowbar was needed to break up the ground, which was rock hard.
“The deeper we got the more difficult it became to progress,” he said.
“But when we got close to the shaft, every time we pounded the crowbar on the end of the tunnel it started to echo up and we thought we must be close to breaking through.”
Once the team did break through, they spent more than an hour widening the small hole to ensure it was big enough for the kangaroo to escape.
Mr Sari said the group was “absolutely ecstatic” with the outcome.
“We had to keep the work to a minimum and guess the shortest route to break through to the mine shaft because the ground was so hard,” he said.
“It was an amazing achievement to finally breakthrough – it seemed we guessed the angle of the tunnel pretty well.”
Mr Sari said his background in mining and prospecting had helped.
The group then left behind a bowl of water and let the kangaroo escape at its leisure.
“The kangaroo would have been very timid and there wasn’t any point in harassing her anymore so we then left her to escape once she knew there were no predators around the vicinity – being us humans,” he said.
Mr Sari urged anyone who came across injured wildlife to contact an emergency service.
BADGAR can be conatcted on 1300 223 427.