September 22, 2003
MARSUPIAL PARAMEDIC
What’s that, Skip? A farmer is hurt? An emu farmer? He’s unconscious? Under a tree? Well, lead the way:
An emu farmer, 52, from Tanjil South, near Moe, was flown to the Alfred hospital with head injuries after a kangaroo led his wife to find him unconscious under a damaged tree yesterday.
"When the kangaroo has gone up to the house and knocked against their glass sliding door, not once but twice, they thought it was strange. But then the roo came back a third time . . . throwing its whole self against the back door," [ambulance officer] Mr Wright said.
This time, Mr Wright said, the man's wife followed the kangaroo to the top of a crest from where she saw it keeping watch over her husband.
Kangaroos are friendly. Not like wombats; a wombat will leave you for dead every time.
Posted by Tim Blair at September 22, 2003 02:37 PM
Just as well it wasn't a dingo that found him- they would have to identify him by performing DNA tests on the critter's poo.
Posted by: Habib Bickford at September 22, 2003 at 02:49 PM
Hmmmmmmmm, what's that smell?
This reminds me of the widely reported Tunbridge Wells Superhero.
Posted by: Big Ramifications at September 22, 2003 at 03:19 PMDoes this mean I should consider getting a pet kangaroo instead of a cat? Can anyone ship one of these noble beasts to the US for me?
Posted by: MB at September 22, 2003 at 03:55 PMMB, unless you are keen on a moving target to practise your shooting, just about any animal would be preferrable to a cat. :-)
Posted by: Todd at September 22, 2003 at 04:09 PMThe TV series Skippy, the Bush Kangaroo did get shown here in the US many years ago in aged-looking reruns, so many Americans will understand the linked photo. Tim’s homeland references aren’t all as cryptic to the rest of the world as he likes to think! :)
Posted by: ForNow at September 22, 2003 at 05:28 PMBut if he'd been wearing socks, a wombat would have dragged him back - especially if it's one of the shark-finned variety, and the farmer was drinking flavoured milk (apologies to overseas readers).
As for kangaroos for pets, well I remember reading about an ex-pat journo who bought a wallaby in a Japanese pet-store not so long ago, and kept it in his apartment. You can buy almost any pet there.
Large kangaroos are definitely not recommended as pets, unless you like being disembowelled.
Posted by: Craig Mc at September 22, 2003 at 05:45 PMi was chased by a wombat once.
fierce, dangerous creatures they are.
blimey.
Yeah, that won't stop Skippy getting killed and eaten.
Posted by: gaz at September 22, 2003 at 07:27 PM
I watched every episode of Skippy growing up here in California. Oh, wait, that was Flipper. Same show.
You know we chopped off skippy's paws for the close-ups?
Posted by: Ed Deveroux at September 23, 2003 at 12:58 AMHow come "Flipper" made the same noises as the gopher in "Caddyshack"? What sort of wierd cross-breeding have you bastards been doing? How do you explain my wife? Just kidding- here's ten bucks.
Posted by: rodney Dangerfield at September 23, 2003 at 01:03 AMThen there's the one about the mother kangaroo who said to the father kangaroo, "I'm worried about Junior. He doesn't seem jumpy lately."
Posted by: Alex Bensky at September 23, 2003 at 02:33 AMOmitted in the story: after a wild pub brawl over a local sheila,Dora Emu, the kangaroo k.o.'d the farmer. The farmer was heard to say, ` aaargh, mate', before passing out.
Skip dragged his pal off to their favourite gum tree so the farmer could recover, then rushed off to grab a can of a pcik me up, beer.`Thanks, mate', saud the farmer as he downed the tinny.
Posted by: d at September 23, 2003 at 10:02 AM