Episode 2 Kangaroo Dundee

C'mon!

Deep in the heart of Central Australia lives

a family like no other.

This is Brolga...

..a man who has sacrificed everything

to give orphaned kangaroos a second chance at life.

Some people, they think that's a bit strange, a bloke being a mum to

an orphaned kangaroo but I do it cos I see what other people don't see.

I see that little joey call out for help.

From his tin shack hidden in the bush,

Brolga raises his babies until they're ready to be released.

And just as with any family, each new day brings fresh challenges.

Tonight, mob boss Roger gets territorial.

Roger wants a fight, something's really stirred him up.

Rex and Ruby start the messy business of toilet training.

Kangaroo wee cuts through all the grease and grime on the floor,

it's the cleanest part of the shack.

And we meet Brolga's fellow kangaroo mums, in Alice Springs.

Come on, let's get those legs happening, mate.

Build up the muscles.

No wonder you were called Elvis, you're a mover and a shaker.

Welcome to the world of Kangaroo Dundee.

It's mid-autumn near Alice Springs.

Two weeks ago, Brolga took in a pair of orphaned joeys,

Rex and Ruby.

Since then, he's been working day and night to give them

everything they need, including a pouch.

A baby kangaroo needs security.

Now, out in the bush baby kangaroo has the security

of Mum's pouch to go into.

For the little orphans,

we can imitate the pouch by using just a pillow case.

Pillow case practise has been going well

and the joeys have almost mastered the art of using their new pouches.

Although Rex still has a little to learn.

It's not your pouch.

It's not your pouch. OK...it is, it is your pouch.

How's that?

For Brolga, as for most mums,

bringing up babies is a full-time job.

It's laundry day...

..and while Brolga hangs out their washing, Rex and Ruby hang out.

For now, the joeys need constant care,

but Brolga hopes that in a few months' time they'll be ready

to join the mob of kangaroos that live in his sanctuary.

But first, there's a new challenge to overcome.

FLIES BUZZING

Flies, flies, flies...

We had some good rain about maybe a month ago

and out here in the desert when it rains everyone breeds.

It's one of the hardest things living out in the bush,

is the constant flies during the heat of summer.

For Brolga the flies are an irritation

but for the fragile joeys they pose a serious risk.

Sleep's everything when you're a baby.

So little joeys Rex and Ruby should be spending most of the day asleep

but unfortunately they're spending more time fending off these flies.

I'm quite concerned for the joeys.

They're just not getting enough sleep.

Always flapping their big ears around.

Life in Brolga's shack can be far from comfortable.

There's no electricity and temperatures can

range from below freezing to over 40 degrees Celsius in the summer.

The harsh conditions and basic facilities limit

the number of orphans he can care for at any one time.

HE MAKES CLICKING NOISE

Depending on the year, sometimes up to 200 orphan kangaroos can

come into Alice each year.

Having a baby kangaroo really takes as much of your time

and energy as that of human children.

And I can't have them all here at my sanctuary.

I just look after what I can look after.

Luckily, Brolga's not the only kangaroo mum in Central Australia.

Ten miles away in Alice Springs, there's a network of like-minded

carers, who strive tirelessly to save as many kangaroos as they can.

That feels better.

You've got a bit more fur than you had a week or so ago.

Cynthia Lynch has been caring for orphan joeys for over 30 years.

There we are, guys, come on. Who wants this, Jack? You too?

The kangaroo, to me, so trusting.

I think that's the thing that still fascinates me to this day.

How can they come and trust us, when often

they haven't been very well treated by humans prior to coming to us.

Unlike Brolga, Cynthia has a number of hi-tech tools to help her

care for the joeys.

Into bed.

Including an incubator.

For very young kangaroos, or pinkies, it's the best way to mimic

the conditions normally found in their mother's pouch.

We have to try and replicate Mum as much as we can,

so this is very important to keep them at the right temperature

because they do not have a temperature control of their own.

A bit like premature babies, they don't either.

So, until he gets fur,

he's not going to have any form of temperature control.

The pinkies must be kept at a temperature of around 34 degrees.

In the incubator, we currently have three orphaned joeys.

They can hear one another's heartbeat.

They're constant company to one another,

they know there's something else alive and there with them.

The three of them are actually helping one another to survive.

It gives them all that extra incentive to say "I want to live".

This is Elvis.

Kept warm by the incubator and cared for by Cynthia,

he's been getting stronger by the day.

He's even starting to stretch his legs.

Bad news for his sleeping roommates.

Come on, my man.

No wonder you were called Elvis,

you're a mover and a shaker, aren't you?

A little mover and a shaker, yes, you are.

And you're ready for your bed.

All that noise cos you've lost your pouch.

All right, ready to get back into bed.

We'll do what we can do for you, there we are, that's a good boy.

And stop walking all over the others...yes.

Into bed...there we are.

There we are.

Sweet dreams.

Come on, young man.

Sharing the incubator with Elvis is Cynthia's latest arrival,

who was found at the roadside two days ago.

Yes.

This little pinky should have stayed in his mother's pouch

for at least another two months.

His eyes are totally closed,

his ears are stuck down,

which tells us, along with the fact that he

weighs 480 grams, that he is about four months old.

So he should never have left Mum.

It's actually very miraculous that this little guy is here at all.

Oh, and you've got a bruise on your tail.

You didn't quite miss the car, did you, hey?

You poor little man.

You didn't stay in the pouch, hey?

No, I know.

It's the only reason you were found though, isn't it?

All right, that's the boy. How's that? That better?

You've almost got your eyes open, haven't you? Not quite.

It's touch and go and his chances of survival

for the first three weeks will be very tenuous.

Sometimes they come in, life is just too much and you know all you can do

is make them comfortable, give them TLC and wait until their days end.

This little guy,

he's got the attitude that "somebody cared enough

"to take Mum off the road and pick me up, find me,

"and I'm going to make the grade,"

and I really hopefully have the feeling that he is one that

just does have no intentions of doing anything but survive.

Back at Brolga's, the fly problem is getting worse.

With Rex and Ruby wide awake,

Brolga decides it's time for the next step in their training.

HE MAKES CLICKING NOISE

Normally, joeys spend their first six months

permanently tucked in their mother's pouch.

It's a cosy life...

..but it creates a pressing problem.

While the baby's in the mum's pouch,

it's actually too young to come onto the ground and go to the toilet,

so Mum kangaroo sticks her head in the pouch and licks the baby

and that makes the baby go to the toilet, it stimulates the baby

and the baby goes to the toilet in Mum's mouth

and then to make sure it's all clean

and hide the evidence that she's carrying a baby, she swallows it.

It may sound strange, but it's an essential and hygienic solution.

And with Rex and Ruby's real mums gone, Brolga has to step in.

HE MAKES CLICKING NOISE

The mother kangaroo, she uses her tongue,

so I can be quite thankful that I'm going to use my finger.

And just like I'm doing here,

that stimulates the baby to go to the toilet.

A baby kangaroo gets very stressed out if it's not taken to the toilet.

In the early days of the baby's life,

it's natural to be stimulated to go to the toilet.

So, this is the best way I can do it.

HE MAKES CLICKING NOISE

See that...just about all done, hmm?

HE MAKES CLICKING NOISE

It's a messy business, but there is an up side.

The good thing about kangaroo wee, is once you mop it up like this,

it sort of cuts through all the grease and grime on the floor,

it's the cleanest part of the shack.

It's a unique form of toilet training.

Just one of the ingenious solutions kangaroo carers come up with

to solve the problems faced by their orphans.

And in Alice Springs, Brolga's friend Anne-Marie has come up

with a novel way of helping another kangaroo, called Lick Lick.

Come on, Lick Lick. Put you in your jelly jumper, mate.

There you go, big boy.

It's actually for babies, erm, to help get their, you know,

to get them used to being on their legs and to get them

moving around and all that sort of thing.

Erm, Lick Lick was attacked by a dog and he has a back injury.

So we tried to work out how to rehabilitate him,

so he now can get movement and strengthen the muscles in his legs.

Yes, I do love you. Yes, I do.

You love your mum, don't you? You don't kiss everybody, do you? No.

That's how you got your name, wasn't it?

Lick Lick, cos you're a kissy boy.

Come on, let's get those legs happening, mate.

Build up the muscles,

yes, and then you can go out with the other bubbas, can't you?

Oh, I know he's a little lick-lick man, aren't you?

I know, you're very special, yes, you are.

You're such a good boy.

When she's not helping kangaroos,

animal lover Anne-Marie runs a dog grooming business.

Now look at you, sweetheart. You do look beautiful.

Dogs may be her day job

but Anne-Marie feels a special bond with the kangaroo.

I love them!

I just think they're such a special, beautiful animal

and they deserve every chance they get.

And if it takes that little bit of extra time

and effort to do that, then I'll put myself out there for them.

I've got the time to give him.

I mean, you've only got to look at him.

He's a pretty happy little chappy, aren't you...Lick Lick?

Are you a happy boy? Are you a happy boy? You are.

I mean, I don't mind if he's sitting in my lounge room for six months.

I feel so privileged to do that, to help them

to have that second chance at life.

As well as Lick Lick, Anne-Marie is looking after

another sick joey called Bonya.

Bonya has a nasty abscess and needs treatment.

So Anne-Marie has come to Cynthia's house.

Morning!

Good, thank you.

Hello, my darling, how are you?

I'll have to turn her around the other way, I think.

So I've got the head nearest me.

-OK, sorry, I was being kacky handed, like I am.

-It's all right, I know.

All right, so there we are...

Cynthia's spent over 30 years working as a nurse

and can see it's a serious infection.

Yeah, she's got... the abscess is right up here

and her eye's half-closed because of it.

The abscess is making it hard for Bonya to eat.

So Cynthia decides it has to be drained.

-Ohhh!

-Yuck!

My nursing skills and the years of being a bush nurse, I think,

that's what prepared me for what I'm doing now, I guess.

It's not a total change, I was looking after people.

Erm, and I found animals that needed treating at the same time

and the kangaroo was by far the one that gave me most satisfaction

and I felt needed the most care. And this is how this grew.

Now that is really, really good.

Sorry, sweetheart.

I can't believe I'm sitting here doing this,

I can't do it with my kids.

LAUGHTER

I passed out when they had their ears pierced.

Now, I reckon we've got it now. There you go...good girl.

-Now that was a big abscess.

-A big abscess, wasn't it?

All that wouldn't have come out on its own without some help.

She probably could have died if she was out there though, couldn't she?

She would have, she would not have survived

-if she would have been out in the wild.

-She's so little as well.

Yes, she's so little, she can't eat, she couldn't drink.

-Awful, wasn't it?

-There we are, job done.

She's such a little baby...

At the shack, Brolga, Rex and Ruby

are setting off on a family trip to Alice Springs.

Been invited to go down to a local radio station.

A station that plays '70s, '80s, '90s type music.

So, an age group around mine,

so hopefully there'll be a few of my mates listening out there.

For Brolga, a radio show is a good way to raise awareness about

his sanctuary and the plight of orphan kangaroos across Australia.

It's not the first time Brolga's been interviewed about his work,

and word of this six foot seven kangaroo mum is starting to spread.

Chris AKA "Brolga" Burns is fast becoming

something of a sensation on a scale of global proportion.

Somewhat of an accidental hero, some might say.

The quiet-spoken, khaki-clad,

lanky wildlife saviour is currently under a spotlight.

He has however managed to find a moment of time,

as he joins me this morning in our studios in Breakfast on the Beach.

-Brolga, thanks for taking the time to come on board.

-No worries, Sandy.

Nice to have you here. Let me just jump straight into it.

How do you support this work?

Off and on and off over the last... Since 2009 I often work two jobs

to support the running of the sanctuary

and occasionally I get in the odd donation that helps out as well.

In a perfect world, none of us really want to go out there

and do harm to any animal, certainly not deliberately, right?

I mean, what can we do more of to save them?

The best thing is to get the education

out there that there is a little orphan often waiting,

alive in the pouch of a dead kangaroo on the road.

We need all locals and tourists and tour guides being aware

that there could be a little joey still alive.

So, don't just drive past it.

And I guess the other thing is also,

let's not be in so much of a hurry to get where it is we want to go.

Yeah, that's a great message. Prevention is much better than cure.

We would much prefer to have no babies...

The interview is going well but now Sandy wants to dig a little deeper.

Now rumour has it you're becoming

somewhat of a global eligible bachelor,

without being a yokel gullible bachelor like me.

Getting a lot of interest from the fairer sex.

Well, I mean that does come about with the tabloids in the UK,

when I came out as this bloke living in the bush

by himself with a mob of kangaroos, in the outback of Australia.

Such beautiful country, you know,

of course the beautiful blue skies of the Alice look so attractive.

And the wonderful stark ranges and the red, rich ochre.

The beautiful skies we have at night time, the stars, the milky way...

It all builds up this huge romantic aura.

You know, I've always said,

I go into a pub in Alice Springs and a girl doesn't look at me

a second time, so to have all of this international reaction

like that is extremely flattering and...

It's not a lifestyle for every lady, is it, really?

I mean, you know, especially those coming from tea and...

high tea and scones down Essex way.

That's right, the girls would probably think, you know,

""here do I plug my hair dryer in?" "Where's the loo?"

I mean, you've basically got to take a shovel and dunny roll

and hide behind the termite mound down the back, that's it.

You know, so how long the novelty would wear off, I'd give it a week.

You'd beg to ask, wouldn't you?

LAUGHTER

It's a beautiful place, the surrounds of the sanctuary are lovely

but, you know, the reality is I don't know

if many girls would be able to handle living here in the shack.

I just went to make my breakfast before

and my bread's been eaten by the mice.

Only last week I had a snake in... a five-foot brown snake in the shack

who was shacking up with me for the night.

You know, all of these things are a regular occurrence out here.

It can be really...it can push you.

I mean, it's pushed me on many occasions.

Being in the heat and the flies

and the harshness of living in a place with very little luxuries

is something you've got to have a mindset

that one day things will get better.

It's been a long day for Rex and Ruby and despite the flies,

they finally manage to get to sleep.

So Brolga heads out into his sanctuary to check on

one of the first kangaroos he ever took in - Roger!

KANGAROO MAKES CLICKING NOISE

Over the years, Roger has worked his way up from orphan joey

to alpha male and now he's the mob boss.

Even Brolga has to watch his step,

as today, Roger's feeling fiercely territorial.

Roger is particularly aggressive at the moment.

Roger wants a fight, but I don't want to fight Roger.

He's far too powerful.

What he's doing now, he's showing me how powerful he is,

by sitting back on his tail...and trying to make himself look larger.

Roger is a very dangerous animal

and really keeps me on my toes... out here in the bush.

He sees me as another... Oh!

Something's really stirred him up!

And Roger's not the only roo behaving strangely.

On the other side of the sanctuary,

seven-year-old Ella is not her usual self.

There's something going on with Ella today

that's different from yesterday.

She seems to be exhausted.

She really seems to be tired.

There are other signs too.

Normally an attentive mum to youngest son Terry,

recently Ella's been keeping her distance.

Terry is hanging close to Mum

but he doesn't appear to be allowed back in the pouch.

There's some reason which she's not allowing Terry

to get back into the pouch.

And Brolga's spotted one more clue.

I noticed Ella is being flanked,

almost guarded by a male kangaroo.

He won't leave her out of his sight

and he's camping not far away.

Funny enough, it's not Roger.

It's one of Roger's rivals.

Ella's admirer is Charles, and he's on Roger's turf.

It's a dangerous game to play.

If Roger catches Charles with Ella, one of his females,

it will come to blows.

Brolga has a theory.

She could be about to give birth.

Or she might have already given birth.

A new baby would explain Ella's behaviour

and if Charles is the father,

Roger's bad mood would make sense too.

I can't tell one way or the other.

The baby's born so tiny,

that if it is in the pouch I can't see it from the outside.

I'm going to have to examine her later on when she wakes up.

That's the only way I'll know whether she's had a baby or not.

HE WHISPERS: I'll come back and check up on you later.

Good sleep.

HE MAKES CLICKING NOISE

Next time on Kangaroo Dundee... we find out if Ella is a new mum.

Wow!

It's lift-off for Rex and Ruby.

They've got this massive spring in their step

and they don't know how to control it.

And we meet new arrival Rocky...

Argh!

Ow!

..a wallaby who's punching well above his weight.

-How do you keep control of him?

-Well, basically I don't.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd