Kangaroo Dundee and Other Animals Part 1 Natural World

Deep in the heart of central Australia

lives a family like no other.

Meet Brolga, the world's most renowned kangaroo mum,

a 6'7 Aussie, who dedicates his life

to giving orphaned kangaroos a second chance at life.

It's a one-to-one relationship, you and the baby.

And they look up to you like you're their mum.

The orphaned joeys live with Brolga and his wife Tahnee

until the day they are ready to be released into the wilds

of Brolga's 80-acre sanctuary.

But Brolga's unconventional family life

is about to get even more complicated.

In this series, we follow Brolga as he takes on

a completely different bunch of animal characters.

Cameron is something new to me.

I've never looked after an orphaned camel before.

Absolutely remarkable. I just love him.

Your new home!

-Aren't they just magic?

-Gorgeous.

And we join Brolga on his mission to create Alice Springs'

first wildlife hospital, dedicated to caring for orphaned animals.

We're the centre of the Outback.

There's no wildlife hospital here.

The challenges ahead are huge.

Each one of these concrete blocks probably weighs a tonne.

And no day is ever straightforward.

You come back and you find the place is like a disaster zone.

But Brolga is determined to fulfil his dream

of creating the only animal hospital for 1,500 kilometres

to care for Australian wildlife in need of a helping hand.

When you're injured, you need help.

There's got to be someone looking out for you.

PIANOLA MUSIC PLAYS

It's eight o'clock in the morning, and it's feeding time

for Brolga and Tahnee's latest batch of kangaroo joeys.

These babies are orphans.

Their mothers were killed in traffic accidents, and now,

to help get over the trauma, they require round-the-clock care.

As Brolga knows only too well,

being a kangaroo foster mum is a big commitment.

MUSIC FINISHES

-Nice.

-Thank you.

This little one is Bob,

and Bob is a little red kangaroo that I rescued out of his dead mum

out there on the highway.

And that's something I've been doing for a long time now,

ever since I started the baby kangaroo rescue centre

ten years ago.

I reckon Bob would be around number 220, 230, something like that.

I lost count around 200.

I love them. They're just the most beautiful thing.

Anyone who gets into looking after baby kangaroos

finds they've got a new love in their life.

But it's not just kangaroos that occupy Brolga these days.

Recently, he's taken on the added challenge of raising

three orphaned camels.

Like his kangaroo joeys,

Brolga hopes that, one day, they'll be able to leave his back yard

to live wild in his sanctuary.

These are my new love. Baby camels.

Well, camels that are now growing up, mind you!

Hey, you like my shorts?

They are full of character, camels.

They are unbelievable.

I've never experienced an animal, especially such a large animal,

that is so affectionate.

The oldest and by far the largest camel is Cameron.

Cameron weighs over half a tonne,

but as an adolescent male, he's still very much a big kid at heart.

Hey, hey.

People wonder why I've got a hole in my hat, it's because of him.

He keeps on... He loves my hat!

Hey! Can I have it back?

Cameron!

Look at that. Look at that!

So...

Cut!

LAUGHTER

Brolga's love affair with camels started 18 months ago

when he rescued Cameron.

Camels were introduced to Australia during the 1800s,

used as pack animals by the first explorers

of the vast Australian Outback.

Today, over half a million feral camels roam free,

with many people now viewing them as pests.

In fact, Cameron's parents were shot by cattle ranchers,

but, fortunately, Cameron was spared the bullet.

Come on!

I got a phone call saying they've just destroyed

a family of camels out in the Outback,

and a little orphan was left behind,

and do you want to come and pick him up?

I thought, I wasn't sure if I needed or wanted a camel,

and they said, "All right, otherwise we'll shoot him.". I said, "No."

CAMEL GRUNTS

I just saw the picture of this little baby looking up at me

in my mind, saying, "If you don't help me, no-one's going to."

So, I went for a bit of a trip, didn't I? Hey?

1,100 kilometre round trip down into the desert of South Australia,

to pick up this beautiful little orphan camel I've called Cameron.

Back when Cameron was just a month old,

Brolga was living in a tin shack at the sanctuary.

Cameron never left his side,

and Brolga soon discovered camels have a real thirst for milk,

drinking as much as 12 litres a day!

I'm just turning into a bit of a milk production factory.

I've never made bottles of milk up like this before!

Fantastic.

And, when it came to bedtime, Cameron would cry all night long.

The only cure to comfort Cameron

was for Brolga to allow him to share his bed.

Animals are all very close to their mothers,

and when they've lost their mother,

the world must be such a lonely place.

To me, it was in my nature to sleep next to him.

And that really helped get Cameron

through the loneliness of losing his mum.

18 months on from taking Cameron under his wing,

Brolga has two more camels, called Jasmine and Theo.

Like Cameron, they became orphans soon after birth,

and Brolga felt compelled to rescue them.

I got a call way out in the bush, way out in remote desert country.

A small camp of people out in the bush,

they'd taken a baby camel off its mother as a pet for a child

and the child didn't know what to do,

and then they found out dogs were attacking it.

Awful situation,

so, not wasting any time, I jumped in the Land Cruiser

and raced out there, and threw little Theo in the back of the truck

and brought him back here.

And then we got a call from a friend of ours in Victoria

who said, "Do you want a camel?

"There's a camel here on someone's farm,

"and it's not being well looked after.

"Its jaw's displaced."

Probably from not being well treated, so we got Jasmine sent up.

So all three camels have come from being orphaned,

or, in Jasmine's case, mistreated.

And that's why we're here - give animals a life that need a home.

We want the very best for them,

because they've had such a hard start to their life.

Theo, quick, get one before Cameron!

The plan to introduce the camels into the sanctuary

is the start of an important new chapter for Brolga.

The Kangaroo Sanctuary, which is home to a mob of 30 roos,

has been running for ten years,

solely as a safe haven for these orphaned animals.

But now, Brolga has big ambitions to expand his operation

by building the only wildlife hospital

within 1,500 kilometres of Alice Springs.

It's an idea that's long been in Brolga's mind.

It first came about ten or 11 years ago, when I saved a baby kangaroo

out of its dead mum's pouch out there on the highway.

I was a tour guide. I brought the little baby back to Alice Springs,

and there was no place I could take it.

It was night-time. The vet wasn't open.

I rang up a local wildlife carer, and they didn't answer the phone.

It made me think, "Come on,

"something has got to be better than this."

So, I want to build something where we can take them,

and we know that they will be looked after.

This is something I've been working my whole life towards,

something I've known within myself I really want to do,

and that's to build my own wildlife hospital.

Brolga's not alone in feeling the pressing need for a hospital.

OK, guys, come on.

Downtown in Alice Springs, fellow wildlife carer, Cynthia Lynch,

is inundated with orphans requiring specialist help.

We're just overrun.

Not just myself, but other carers, as well.

We have something like 84 in care at the moment,

and it goes up to 120 sometimes.

So, the hospital, there's an absolute need

to do the right thing by these animals

and to be able to give them the care they really do need.

Like Mother Hubbard. Too many children!

Or The Old Lady Who Lived In The Shoe, one or the other.

That might be a better metaphor for me.

Too many children, she didn't know what to do.

But we can never say no, can we? We can't say no to you.

Most of the orphan joeys come from surviving road traffic accidents.

Today, Brolga's responding to a call reporting a dead kangaroo

on the road 15km south of Alice Springs.

If it's a mother, there's a chance her joey will have survived

the impact, cushioned in the protective environment of her pouch.

Here we've got a wedge-tailed eagle sitting in the middle of the road.

That means dead kangaroo.

When Brolga stops to inspect the corpse,

he discovers a tiny hairless "pinkie" still alive in the pouch.

Come on, little one.

Look at this.

A lovely little baby survived.

Now this baby is going to have to get to an incubator,

otherwise it's not going to be able to keep warm.

In the absence of a wildlife hospital,

Brolga immediately takes the orphaned joey to Cynthia's.

Cynthia!

What have you got this time?

I don't know. I think she's a little girl.

-Isn't she beautiful?

-Isn't she? She's tiny, too.

-She is tiny.

-Tiny little thing.

We'll take you and give you a weigh.

Cynthia is an expert in rehabilitating pinkies,

which, like prematurely born human babies, need round-the-clock care.

-OK. 702.

-That's great.

-That's a good weight.

Anything over 500 is good.

And we'll just take you out and we'll just quickly check you out.

Legs are working, arms are working.

Looks like her rear end is too actually!

She looks great, doesn't she?

Yeah, and the ears are half up, the eyes are open,

so that's all really, really good.

-Beautiful.

-That's a girl, we'll pop you back in.

-You've got room in the incubator?

-I've got room.

Brolga's named this new arrival Hope.

She will need to spend six weeks in the incubator,

and if she survives this critical period,

Hope will be delivered back into Brolga's care.

Hope is a fragile baby.

Coming into human care, it is all alien and it can be quite stressful.

We've got to make sure we do the best for a little baby like Hope.

I look at her with as much love as a newborn baby.

At any given time,

Cynthia may have as many as five pinkies on life support.

These frail creatures need feeding every three hours, day and night.

Come on.

We've got Simon here.

Oh, haven't we, Simon? Yes.

We can't leave him out for long as he'd get very cold otherwise.

You can see every vein and vessel on him,

and you can have a good anatomy lesson with him.

You can see their very long legs.

They just don't control their legs or their arms,

and that's why it's really important to be careful with them

because they can fracture them so easily.

Once they fracture them,

unfortunately, they don't have much of a chance of life

because they need these big legs to bound around, don't they?

It's just so good to see them start to grow, be bright and alert,

and know that you're doing a reasonable job.

You're not as good as Mum, but you are keeping them alive

and they're happy and bright, and drinking and eating.

If they've got a bright eye, they're a healthy animal.

So it's nice to see a nice bright eye.

Up to now, Brolga's Kangaroo Sanctuary has been funded

by charitable donations and income from visitors.

But, with his ambitious and expensive plans to build and run

a wildlife hospital, he's looking at ways to raise extra funds.

His big idea is to attract more people

to his sanctuary by introducing new species of animals.

My whole sanctuary is based around red kangaroos.

Now I feel it's time that I can introduce

some more animals to the mob.

And have species that the paying visitors can see

up close in their natural habitat.

As part of the master plan for expanding the sanctuary,

Brolga and Tahnee are heading to Alice Springs Airport

to pick up a very special package.

Oh, wow!

Wow!

Arriving by air freight are three four-week-old emu chicks.

-They look great! They look really good.

-Thank you!

Yes, thanks! Thanks so much!

You get in the car, I'll put these in the back.

I heard of these three little chicks that needed a home,

and the man was trying to get rid of them,

so I got them sent to Alice Springs.

They've actually been born in captivity,

and I'm really happy for them

because they're going to be able to live out their lives

in the great open country of my sanctuary.

Hey, look who we've got!

Hello!

We might show you these later on.

Yeah, what's that, Cameron?

-Hey, look at that.

-Emus!

It'll be several months before the emus are old enough

to live at the sanctuary.

Good boy, good boy.

In fact, they're going to start their new life in the laundry room

in Brolga's and Tahnee's house.

Your new home!

All right, we've got to make sure they don't get outside.

Are you going to hold it open?

Yep, yep.

Aren't you going to hold it open?

No, no, that'll be good.

We'll just, er...

That's it.

Shh, just keep very quiet.

Here he comes. Ah, look at that!

Oh!

-Aren't they magic?

-Gorgeous.

They're so tall.

Yeah, they're a little bit bigger that I thought they might be.

Emus are Australia's largest flightless bird,

and these chicks will eventually grow to be almost two metres tall.

I was so worried that they were going to panic.

Run everywhere, and smash into the wall.

-They're sticking to each other.

-Yeah.

This is the way they communicate with each other.

HE WHISTLES

BIRDS WHISTLE TOGETHER

If they're all whistling, they're happy because they're all together.

-They must feel safe or something like that.

-Yes.

They're fantastic, I'm so glad we got them.

I knew it was the right thing to do.

You'll keep them just in here tonight, just to settle them down?

I think it's worthwhile.

They're together, they've got the reassurance of each other,

and they're not going to run round madly.

The brush will give them something to peck at,

also give them the feeling of security, like going under a bush.

That's a heat lamp and Big Ted will give them something to cuddle up to.

What are you doing!?

You've only been here five minutes

and you're destroying the place already.

The next day, Brolga lets the emus out to explore their surroundings.

Having the emus in the house is chaos!

They are falling over, getting up, falling on the floorboards,

chasing each other.

It's great fun, but it is a chaotic house with the emus inside.

Because the house is clearly unsuitable, Brolga's moving the

emus to a small enclosure where he can keep a close eye on them.

I should actually be there for the emus as much as possible.

They instinctively would be looking up to a very tall father emu,

so being with me will hopefully settle them down.

Along with the emus in Brolga's back yard, the three orphan camels

are also being prepared for release into the wilds of the sanctuary.

But their freedom is a long way off as they've got

a lot of growing up to do.

Theo is still on the bottle

and requires two litres of milk three times a day.

Theo's now nine months old.

So, I've been feeding Theo this milk since he was about two days old

or three days old, when I first got him.

When I first got him, he was small enough for me to pick him up

and put him in the back of the Land Cruiser.

Now, well, definitely not.

But he still loves his milk and he's still going to need

his milk for a little while yet.

Brolga's discovering the dangerously playful side of camels

and, recently, Theo's developed the unnerving habit

of biting Brolga's feet.

Now, he wants to play!

Camel play is practising to dominate or fight.

So, basically, a young boy wanting a fight.

Hey!

That's a bit hard!

He'd probably be doing this with his mum and I'm his mum.

Hey!

And he's getting quite a handful, aren't you?

Cameron, the eldest, is also proving to be a handful.

He now stands over two metres tall, and as an adolescent male,

he's become particularly mischievous.

When I'm doing simple chores like cleaning the bathroom, he's

got to stick his head through the window and try

and take the cleaning cloth out of my hand.

No, you're not having the cloth. No, Cameron! No!

No! Oh!

Cameron, no!

If I'm not there, he cries out.

If I'm not there, he's pacing up and down looking for me.

He's funny, he's classic.

Brolga is aware that Cameron has the potential to become

extremely dangerous.

He needs obedience training to ensure that it will be safe

to relocate him to the sanctuary.

This job is going to be left in the hands of Tahnee

because Brolga's heading out of town to help another orphaned animal.

And, with a long road trip ahead of him,

plans for the wildlife hospital are temporarily on hold.

400km south of Alice Springs,

a southern hairy-nosed wombat called Pete,

is rapidly outgrowing his home.

His species is endangered,

and Brolga's been called in by his carer,

a nurse called Marie, to see if he can offer a helping hand.

Marie has been looking after Pete for about a year.

When he was brought to her after a hunting trip,

where the mother was hunted,

and there was a little orphan hiding away in Mum's pouch.

Marie called me up and said, "Brolga, we've got to do something

"for Pete", and the southern hairy-nosed wombat

is a beautiful little animal.

I've never really had anything to do with them,

so I'm really looking forward to catching up with Marie and Pete.

Like kangaroos, wombats are marsupials.

They are native to southern Australia, and as nocturnal animals,

they spend the day asleep in their burrow, deep beneath the ground.

But in Marie's house, Pete has occupied the bedroom.

Now, more than ever he needs his rest,

as recently he had an accident and broke his leg.

He is in need of expert care.

KNOCK ON DOOR

Well, here he is Brolga.

That is unreal.

Yup. He's just having his little afternoon relax.

-Typical Aussie!

-Yes.

Apparently, this is classic happy wombat sleeping position.

-Is that right?

-Just on their back with their hands up.

Poor little fellow had an accident a week ago

and broke his tibia and fibula.

I don't know how it happened, but I just found him in the morning.

He was upset and his little leg was swollen.

So, maybe he climbed up on something and fell down.

He might have, he jumps off the lounger now and then, so...

-He's quite heavy, too.

-Is he?

Yep. He's 12 kilos at the moment.

-Ah. Here he is.

-He's beautiful!

-So, you're Mum?

-Absolutely.

Definitely. He loves you, too, look.

Hey!

Ah, little boy. Isn't he beautiful?

Oh! He doesn't love me!

Come on, Pete.

-Can you hold him for a moment?

-I'll take him.

-Thank you.

Come on, big boy.

It's not like a kangaroo. Gee, it's a funny animal.

Just, er...

I'm blown away by how unreal and weird they are.

He's got a face like a big pig,

a body like a little bulldozer,

and uh...

Absolutely remarkable.

I just love him, love him heaps.

Hey, Pete.

Hello!

Yes, I know, I'm not your mum.

He's so beautiful, isn't he? He likes his tummy being rubbed.

He does. Like a little Buddha.

-He is like a little Buddha, isn't he?

-Yeah!

Here you go, good boy.

Brolga's long-term plan

is to give Pete a permanent home at his sanctuary,

but to do this requires building a specialist wombat enclosure,

which will take time and money.

So, for now, Brolga's heading further south

to put Pete in the temporary care of a wombat specialist,

who's going to help get his leg back to full strength.

Brolga and Pete are heading to Coober Pedy,

the opal-mining capital of Australia.

He's arranged to stay the night with some old mates

who run their own kangaroo orphanage.

G'day!

Who's that? Ah, g'day, Brolga!

G'day, mate!

About time you got here!

It's only been like 750km!

Not far, mate!

Like Brolga, Terry and Jo are completely obsessed with kangaroos.

-So long!

-I know!

-You've been promising!

And, while Pete settles down for the night in a baby cot,

Brolga's keen to meet a kangaroo that recently made headline news.

-So, this is the famous Bella?

-Yup.

The one that was in all the press in the UK?

Yup, this is the one and only Bella.

Every time I'd go out into the yard or sit with her, or in the house,

she would start licking my foot.

I had a couple of spots on my foot, my hands, my face,

just like a freckle or little sore that wouldn't heal up properly.

She would make a beeline for them and lick them with such urgency,

as if to say, "Mum, we've got to get rid of this spot.

"We've got to get rid of it now!"

-She was actually telling you something was wrong?

-She was.

And it was so urgent.

After about two weeks, and this is happening every day,

I said to Terry, "I think I better go and get them checked out",

so I did, I went to the doctor's and he took one look

and said, "skin cancers,

"and you need to see a specialist straightaway."

And I ended up having surgery.

-And now it's all fixed?

-Yep. All fine.

So, you reckon Bella actually helped save your life?

She was telling me. Definitely telling me.

If it hadn't been for her, I would have ignored them.

With Brolga away in Coober Pedy,

Tahnee's been working on the camels' much-needed obedience training.

Walk up, walk up.

Cameron, the large bull, is the biggest concern

and, with the tricky relocation to the sanctuary looming on the

horizon, Tahnee wants to ensure she can maintain control of her animals.

Stop. Stop.

Back, back.

We're going to teach Cameron a couple of moves, one is "back"

because we don't want him to run anybody over.

He's going back a little bit too far, but that's a good boy.

Stop. Stop's another one.

Hoosh.

Cameron is just learning to "hoosh", which is a sit down.

He's trying to trick me into thinking he's going...

Oh, he is going down! Good boy. Good boy!

Hup, hup, hup.

Hup, hup!

Good boy. Good boy.

A lot of people ask if camels are stubborn.

I don't think they're stubborn, I just think they're clever.

They'll do what they want sometimes.

One thing camels do is they smell.

They like smelling everything.

Especially when I've been eating something,

Cameron will... See he's doing that?

He puts his upper lip up because when they put their top lip up

it allows them to smell what's going on,

so they can figure out what that smell is.

They've got a very good sense of smell.

And that's just a yawn. Bit tired.

I'll try and show you this. Cameron doesn't have top teeth.

Camels don't have top teeth.

Can you see from that yawn? They've just got bottom teeth.

They've got a very hard upper pallet,

which lets them pick very prickly and hard bushes.

But they've got some nice strong back teeth

to chew up their tough food.

Cameron is still a baby. He's only two years old,

and so he's still learning and he's still a bit naughty sometimes.

But generally, most of the time, he's a lovely beautiful boy,

like he is now.

Even though he's not small, he's still my baby. Aren't you, hey?

Yeah.

Back in Coober Pedy, Brolga's meeting up

with wombat expert Val Salmon.

Val's going to look after Pete until his leg is better,

and Brolga's ready to house him at his sanctuary.

Val's brought along her latest batch of orphan wombats.

It's an opportunity for Brolga to find out what lies in store.

Think we're done there.

The average age span for these guys in captivity is 30 years plus.

Really? 30 years?

When they get to maturity, Pete will become a bulldozer.

They call them the bulldozer of the bush.

And he will give you a run for your money.

-They can run up to 40kph.

-Really?!

He will go straight for your shins.

I actually had my arm fractured by a full-grown wombat.

She was hit by a car and I went to turn her over,

and she turned around and springed me,

-and she fractured my arm through here.

-She kicked you?

One kick. That's the power they've got.

One good kick and it fractured your arm! Wow!

I'd sooner get in with a kangaroo than a wombat.

I'm starting to think that, too!

So, the wombat pouch is backwards.

Whereas a kangaroo pouch is from the top down,

a wombat's is from the back up.

The reason it goes in reverse is because if they're digging holes,

they don't get full of dirt.

-So, Mum doesn't fill the pouch with sand when she's digging?

-Yes.

So, they're digging with those big front paws?

Yes, they use their front ones for digging

and the back ones like a shovel.

-Ah, so one's for digging out, and the other is to push it back?

-Yes.

Wow.

-Yeah, I see what you mean, like a little shovel.

-Yes.

That's great, isn't it?

Val has travelled 1,000 kilometres to get here.

Before she can take Pete home, the wombat pinkies

need to have their skin moisturised with baby oil.

The best way to hold them is to put your hand gently around

and under their front legs.

Yup. This one's a wriggler.

Yes, they are very much wrigglers.

Oh, he's a wriggler all right.

-Then we get some cream, rub it on your fingers like so...

-Yes.

And just massage it in.

Without the natural humidity of their mother's pouch,

the pinkie's skin dries out unless it's regularly treated.

It's going to be like holding a fish in a minute.

-Yeah.

-Bit slippery!

-Yeah. They get a bit anxious.

Put your fingers around between his arms,

like just here, and they'll eventually just calm down.

-Like that?

-Yes, like that.

I've got big hands and this is a wriggly little wombat.

And this one goes in headfirst?

-Round the other way.

-Round the other way?

-No, headfirst, but standing up.

-Like that?

-Yes.

-OK.

And I'll just help her. Tuck her over. Done.

And there she goes, her head is round the right way.

Ah, look at that.

-There you go.

-Ahhh!

-All done.

-Back to bed.

Ready? No. No, Pete!

Pete also needs attention.

It's time for his daily dose of pain-relieving medicine.

Oh!

I promise you he won't bite, as long as you hold him still.

Listen, I've been bitten and punched and whatever.

He might not be keen, but with a long journey ahead of him

it's important he's made as comfortable as possible.

Ah, ah, ah, ah!

You got it? There you go.

-Yep, he got it.

-Good boy, good boy. It's all right.

For the next few months,

Pete will live at Val's wombat rescue centre

while Brolga completes his new enclosure back at his sanctuary

in Alice Springs.

Good boy.

But already Brolga's hatching plans for his future caring for wombats.

Good boy. See you, mate. Have a great trip.

I feel a bit sad after dropping Pete off with Val.

My little time with him was just an absolute experience.

A dream for me.

I've never had anything to do with wombats, but I must admit,

I've fallen in love with Pete.

I'd love to have him at my sanctuary.

That would be a dream. Maybe I can set up

a southern hairy-nosed wombat breeding programme.

I can see just that little time I had with Pete

that this could really become a big part of my life.

You've still got lots of joeys coming in?

Yes, and I don't think it's going to settle down.

They seem to be getting more and more and more.

Really? So, you're a bit flat out at the moment?

Brolga's long road trip

has given him lots of time to think about the wildlife hospital.

It doesn't really matter. Life in the fast lane!

Today, he's come to visit Cynthia, who he's joining forces with

to get the project off the ground.

Brolga's come up with a unique design,

and he's eager to get Cynthia's approval.

The idea with the hospital,

it's going to be a place for kangaroos, but also other animals.

Also all other Australian wildlife.

But, rather than build just the normal square shape,

what every other building is like,

the kangaroo is the iconic animal of Australia.

It is the animal that we care for the most.

Let's build it in the shape of a kangaroo.

Abso-blooming-lutely!

I want people to talk about this.

So, because we're near the airport,

I'm hoping that when they fly into town they'll fly over the hospital,

and think, "Gee, those people go out of their way for animals.

-"Isn't that great? Let's do the same for animals in our country."

-Yes.

So, we're going to need a baby run, sort of like that...

Where we've got the babies in the sun, hanging up in their pouches.

And then also, when we get a school group in,

-we've got a nice shaded area where we can do a talk.

-Yes.

But then, in the middle here,

underneath the roof,

is the actual hospital.

Well, yes, Brolga.

I love the idea, except for that poor-looking kangaroo!

Yes, listen I am aware of this.

That was actually my best kangaroo freehand.

I'm glad I didn't see the others!

I'd hate to see what the worst was like!

Listen. Last night, I did,

understanding my artistic skills are not the best in the world,

I traced that and have developed this plan.

Much, much better! That's a much better effort.

So, you want to get this off the ground as much as I do.

I sure do, yeah. Good Lord, I hope...

Give me five more years and we'll get this up and running,

and I will die a contented lady.

It's been two months since Brolga rescued Hope from the highway.

Having survived in Cynthia's incubator,

she's now back in Brolga's care.

This is the joy for me.

It's extra special when you rescue a kangaroo yourself.

Over the last month or two, she's started to get hair,

and she's progressed as well as possible.

But there's a problem.

Although she's recovered from the trauma of losing her mother

she's developed a skin condition that's concerning Brolga.

Hope is starting to show signs of scratching a lot.

And that could be one of two things.

It could be little biting insects like mites,

or it could be the onset of mange,

and this is potentially very serious if we don't get on top of it.

So, I've got to give her a medicated shampoo bath.

And that's where lies a little bit of a problem

because I've never met a kangaroo in 20 years of looking after them

that likes having a bath.

She's going to struggle and she's going to kick up a stink.

But it is for her welfare.

If we don't stop her scratching, that can lead to stress.

The stress of constantly scratching means you're not sleeping.

And if you're not sleeping...

Hope can get sick.

Do your tummy.

Just do your pouch, do your tummy.

Good girl, nearly done.

Just a little bit...

Good girl, that's it.

Just drying her off with a towel is not really enough.

I've really got to make sure she's 100% dry

before she goes back into her little pillowcase pouch.

So, blow drying her like this, again, she doesn't like it,

it's something totally alien to her,

but it's a way of really getting through

to the leather underneath her hair.

Into her pelt, basically, so all of her becomes dry.

Last week you were 1.38 kilos.

Today, 1.613.

Beautiful. Well done.

That wasn't too hard, was it? Hey?

Good girl.

The following morning,

with Cynthia's blessing for the wildlife hospital design,

Brolga is moving one step closer to realising the ambitious plan.

With stakes and tape, he's been marking out the plot

to get an idea of how building it in the shape of a kangaroo

will look on the ground.

I've been working all day out in the sun, but it's been a great day.

It's something I've been...

It feels like I've been waiting my whole life to do,

and that's get the wildlife hospital on the road.

Starting to get something happening.

And the start of it is pegging out

and putting out tape

in an outline of what I think will look like a kangaroo from the air.

Building a wildlife hospital in one of the remotest places on Earth

is a way of standing up and saying I care about my animals,

and I want a place that I leave behind when I go

that will be here for animals.

A place that, when they're sick and injured, we know we can bring them.

It's not long after marking out his kangaroo design

that the need for a wildlife hospital is really brought home

to Brolga, when he discovers one of his adult females is in trouble.

She looks like she's got a bad leg injury.

This is Little Miss and she is one of my favourite old kangaroos.

And I hate to say it, but I think she's broken her leg.

Her right leg is swollen and much bigger than her left.

And she has evidently got a really bad break.

I'm really upset.

Come on. Here. Have some food.

Oh, oh.

She's obviously in a lot of pain.

But an animal like her doesn't show she's in pain.

She doesn't cry out.

Being a prey animal, an animal that gets eaten by other animals,

she'd instinctively be concerned about a predator attacking her

while she's vulnerable.

Brolga knows that he needs to hang back.

Little Miss is distressed and in pain.

She will try to run if he gets too close,

and this could make her injury much worse.

He can't help her on his own.

'Hello, this is Anna.'

G'day, Anna. This is Brolga. How you going?

-Good thanks, how are you?

-I'm very well.

I was wondering if a vet can come out to my sanctuary this morning.

I've got a kangaroo with a possible broken leg.

Yeah, sure, she'll come out after a couple of visits she's doing,

so she should be there around 9.30. Is that all right?

-About 9.30?

-About 9.30.

-All right, fantastic. Thanks. Bye.

Little Miss is one of the first kangaroos that I had

and started the sanctuary off with.

She's a beautiful kangaroo, always loves to come up for a pat.

I don't expect it to be the best outcome.

She's an old animal. She may have to be put to sleep.

An hour later, the vet, Dr Emily Bull,

arrives from nearby Alice Springs.

Is it actually her ankle or is it up above her knee?

It's, well...

It's just below her Achilles tendon,

there seems to be a very big swelling.

-OK, so her hop joint.

-Yeah, her hop joint.

So what we might do, if you can get her and hold her on the ground,

I might give her some Valium straightaway.

And it will take the edge off, and take the anxiety away anyway.

If we need to transport her for X-rays or anything,

we can give her some anaesthetic to make it a more comfortable ride.

I'm going to have to grab her by the tail or even jump on top of her.

-That's right. We've got to catch her.

-Yeah, yeah.

Little Miss is on edge.

Brolga needs to act quickly.

He can't allow her to escape.

Emily gives Little Miss an injection to calm her down,

and then sets about examining the area of swelling.

I'm just going to pop a needle into it.

There's actually a lot of fluid accumulation there.

It's possible she's got an infection in that joint.

-See, she's got that big fluid pocket here?

-Yup.

-I just want to see what it is, what that fluid is.

-OK.

-OK?

-Yep, I'm all right.

Good girl.

OK, so what that is is...

Oh, wow!

-Synovial fluid.

-Oh, wow, it's leaking out.

Early investigations suggest an infection.

For now, there's no sign of a break.

This could be good news, but the vet wants to be sure.

I would probably like to X-ray this

to ensure there's not a fracture in the actual joint.

All right, cool.

All right. You might be able to just grab that leg for me there,

and we can lift her up like this.

Under heavy sedation, Little Miss is brought in

to the Alice Springs Veterinary Centre for her X-ray.

Can you get at that there?

Good girl.

Brolga is anxious to hear the results.

OK, so, it's KV 48.

-KV 48.

-And second's point one.

OK, Brolga, we can see all of this soft tissue swelling is evident.

She's got actually a little bit of arthritic change,

but she's an older girl so that's not particularly exciting.

But none of the bones appear to have any fractures.

So, she doesn't have any breaks?

No. It looks like she's dodged a bullet.

Gee, that's a relief.

It's still a long road of recovery, you know.

She's not going to get better in the next day or two

because she does have some soft tissue injury there,

but with some antibiotics and anti-inflammatories

-we should be able to get her back on her feet.

-Oh, cool.

It's often when an animal or someone that you love becomes really sick

that it makes you remember how much you really love them.

And that's what I felt when she was in the vet there.

Am I going to lose her?

Thanks for everything.

So, for the vet to say, through the X-rays, that it's all OK,

and there's no fracture there,

it's become a massive weight off my shoulders,

and it's really restored how much I love her as an animal.

-I can't get out. Can you open the door please?

-Yes!

So, it's a good wake-up call for me,

the ones we love around us,

I think we should, you know, not to take them for granted

because tomorrow they could get sick.

All right, thanks.

I've now got a few more years left with Little Miss

and I am going to treasure it.

And never lose sight of the fact that, as our friends and family,

as the kangaroos are to me,

get older and older, that my time is limited with them,

and I've got to make sure I enjoy every day.

Right.

It's been three weeks since Brolga treated Hope's skin infection,

and it's good news.

She's well on the mend.

Today, Brolga has brought her out to his sanctuary,

where in six months' time she will be released.

To prepare her for her new home,

Brolga is keen to start the process in introducing her to the mob.

Hope's an orphan.

All she's been doing for the last few months

is being raised in an incubator, and then always in a pillowcase.

I want her growing up knowing that she's a kangaroo.

It's important for Hope to start to socialise with other kangaroos.

Hello.

To him, it's an unknown baby.

All of a sudden there's another baby.

Where did that come from?

You can often see the look of puzzlement on their face.

You never know what reaction you're going to get from another kangaroo,

whether they're going to sniff it and say, "G'day",

or sniff it and run off.

As Hope is an outsider,

it may take time for the adult kangaroos to accept the new arrival.

Hey! Hey.

Be nice.

Cranky old thing.

Along with meeting the mob, Hope is also in need of some training.

Particularly in the art of hopping.

Good girl.

Some good sunshine, good sunshine. Good vitamin D.

Come on, let's go for a hop.

Let's stretch those little tendons. Come on, come on.

Bringing Hope out into the sanctuary and getting her to follow me

like this is really important because we've got to build up

her Achilles tendon, that's what makes the kangaroo hop.

It's like this big rubber band.

If you don't exercise that, the tendon seizes up

and she won't be able to be mobile.

So, it's really important, at a very young age, like Hope is now,

to actually get her out exercising.

Hope's coming on leaps and bounds.

She's got that bit of drive in her, and that is what a young joey needs

when we rescue them from such an early age,

they're going to need that drive - some have it, some don't.

Unfortunately, some little ones pass on, but Hope has pulled through.

She's going great and she looks up at me as Mum,

and I feel really privileged,

and I feel like it's given me a sense of purpose.

Next morning, Brolga is up early to feed his kangaroos.

It's a big day as his dream of building a wildlife hospital

is finally becoming a reality.

Today, builders have arrived to pour concrete

and lay the foundations.

I'm absolutely rapt.

I almost can't believe it, I feel like I'm going to be tearful.

It has been something I've wanted to do for a long time

because I've seen the need for it.

I've seen where we haven't had animals being able to get

appropriate veterinary care.

I've seen animals in the wrong hands, you know,

people not looking after them with due care.

This will be a place where animals can be, for one, dropped off,

to the right place, where you know they will get the appropriate care,

and a place where they can get fixed up.

Actually, having the concrete go down really, well,

cements it to me, that my lifelong dream is actually happening!

Next time, Brolga welcomes Pete, the southern hairy-nosed wombat,

to his new home.

PETE BREAKS WIND

It wasn't me.

Brolga faces the daunting challenge of releasing

his three orphaned camels into the wilds of his sanctuary.

We are actually quite nervous about the move,

just really hoping everything's going to go all right.

And a run-in with his old sparring partner Roger,

the dominant male, results in a serious injury.

Will this be a major setback to realising his dream

of building the wildlife hospital?

When you're injured, you realise how difficult life can be.

Your life is just thrown on its head.