Prospectors made a shocking discovery at the bottom of a sinkhole in an Australian state forest on the weekend. The couple first became aware of the desperate situation when they noticed an animal’s head repeatedly popping up from inside the pit.
Mogo State Forest on the NSW South Coast is well-known for its old mineshafts and sinkholes that form above old tunnels. Despite having been abandoned in the late 1800s, these diggings continue to cause problems for animals that venture into the forest.
Upon closer inspection of the pit, the prospectors found two young eastern grey kangaroos bounding around inside the three-metre-deep hole, desperate to get out. Unable to haul them out on their own, they called rescuers from WIRES to help.
Volunteer Shelley Clarke arrived at the site just after noon and found the kangaroos staring up at her “bewildered”. “Thank goodness the prospectors saw them, otherwise they may have never been found,” she told Yahoo News.
Together with the prospectors and another rescuer, Shelley tried digging out the sides of the sinkhole to create a gradient they could clamber up. When that failed, they called in the local State Emergency Service (SES) for help. With their help, Shelley climbed down into the sinkhole to grab the kangaroos.
“The day was getting away from us, we had limited resources, and we needed to act,” she said.
If the prospectors had not spotted the kangaroos they could have died a slow death. Source: WIRES
Kangaroo rescue takes grim twist
Alongside a volunteer from the SES, Shelley made her way down to the bottom of the mine, captured the kangaroos and placed them in large bags. One of the kangaroos was released without incident and it hopped away.
And although the plan seemed straightforward, the rescue of the second kangaroo suddenly took a sad twist. Kangaroos are known to easily die from stress, and for this young animal, the ordeal was too much for its little body.
“One of the handlers felt its body go still very quickly. It was a real surprise,” Shelley said.
“I tried a little bit of CPR to see if we could get that one back, but unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. We were pretty heartbroken.”
It’s believed the kangaroo died from stress myopathy, which often leads to muscle degeneration and a slow death, but in some cases, its impact is rapid. For this reason, it’s always important to keep dogs away from kangaroos because even if they don’t cause physical harm, the ordeal can still kill.
Mine diggings continue to pose threat to wildlife
The rescue has been a reminder for Shelley about the long-term impact short-term ventures like a mining boom can have on wildlife.
It’s not just Mogo State Forest where sinkholes continue to pose a risk. Anyone who grew up in the NSW city of Newcastle in the 1980s and 1990s would have seen advertisements warning kids about the danger the mines posed.
Over in Victoria’s Goldfields, rescuers are regularly called out to help stranded kangaroos. In April, one rescuer found the bodies of several dead kangaroos, along with living snakes and lizards, at the bottom of an old well near the town of Bet Bet.
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