Kangaroo’s are highly social, sensitive, intelligent and extremely protective of their families and young. It is not a natural or normal occurrence for kangaroos to enter water unless they are threatened or chased. If a dog pursues a kangaroo into water, as was the case in this incident, the scared and terrified kangaroo to defend itself and its family mob will hold a dog underwater until the threat has passed. In some cases unfortunately, a joey may drown while its mother, fearing for her life, tries to defend and protect herself and young against a marauding dog.

Kangaroos that have been chased by a dog/s can become severely stressed and contract a disease called myopathy which cause’s fatal kidney dysfunction and a slow and painful death.

In the area north of Melbourne there has been a substantial amount of residential development from Bundoora through to Doreen and Arthur’s Creek that has pushed much of our native wildlife to the very fringes of their home ranges. In the last few years many of these animals, particularly kangaroos, have been under attack from dogs, trail bikes, kids throwing sticks and stones at them and of course bow and arrow attacks.

This incident is an important reminder to us all that responsible pet ownership is crucial for the future protection of our native wildlife and the welfare of your pets by restraining them around wildlife. We should also remember that these are wild animals and need to be treated with respect.

It was nice to hear Chris Rickard and his partner say that they moved to the area because they love the kangaroos and the wildlife and they would now keep their dogs away from where the kangaroos are.

We wish Chris a speedy recovery.