John and Christa Kook, a couple from Victoria, Australia were looking for gold in the nearby forests when they heard a strange noise. They knew it might be someone’s cry for help, so they gave up the metal detectors and started to look around.
Shortly after, they came over an old mine shaft. It was there where the noise was coming from. Unfortunately, a very unfortunate kangaroo felt down and got trapped there. As the hole was around 32 feet deep, John knew he had to call for help. So they reach out to the Wildlife Victoria Rescue and minutes after the brave volunteer Manfred Zabinskas arrived at the scene. It’s when the difficult rescue began.
“The shaft was located deep into the forest and a considerable distance away from the track that they had driven in on,” Manfred told news.com.au. “Thankfully, they met me on the main road and guided me to the location of the shaft which I doubt I could have found without their help.”
Without thinking too much, the brave volunteer put his life on the line and started to climb down the mine shaft. Even though, he was extremely carefully, because the floor could had easily colapsed injuring the trapped animal or even worst. “I could see that the rim of the shaft opening was unstable and likely to crumble,” the volunteer told The Dodo. “But the shaft itself appeared sound and had tree roots binding some of the wall.”
Once he got down there, Manfred knew the only way to get the kangaroo out there was to tranquillize him. Even so, to get him out was extremely difficult and dangerous for both of them. “It was important to remain suspended from my ropes to minimise my contact with the floor,” he said. “This made maneuvering very awkward and uncomfortable, but necessary for the safety of both myself and for the kangaroo.”
Somehow, the brave man managed to reach the kangaroo and while holding a flashlight in his mouth, he put the 66lb animals in a special rescue bag. Once they they get out of the mine shaft, the animal was taken to the Victoria Rescue for further investigation. Fortunately, it turned out he got no injuries. “In this case, the kangaroo appeared to be uninjured, although highly stressed and upset. I would normally expect significant injuries to result from a fall of such a distance,” he explained.
Shortly after, the animal was released back in the wild and his rescuer was the one to set him free. “There’s no greater reward than watching a rescued animal head back home, acting as if nothing had happened,” Manfred said. “Hopefully he will remember and avoid that shaft in future. I can only wonder if he’ll share his story with family and friends.”
h/t: thedodo | news.co.au
