Beau, the young Eastern Grey Kangaroo who had an arrow fired through his head last month in an horrific act of cruelty that shocked the world, died yesterday as a result of his injuries at the Chum Creek Wildlife Shelter.

His female companion Hope, who had an arrow fired into the base of her tail and was rescued two days before Beau, stood by him in death. Healesville Sanctuary will conduct a post mortem of Beau over the next few days.

Beau’s carer Belinda Gales, of the Chum Creek Wildlife Shelter said today, “He showed no sign of any unusual distress or discomfort the day before, at this stage we are not sure what happened, we will see what shows up from the post mortem”.

Ms Gales said “he was such a sweet kangaroo, we are absolutely devastated, poor Hope was standing next to him and has been quiet and depressed since. Kangaroos really show their grief when they lose one of their own, it’s heartbreaking, his death could now slow her recovery”.

A Thomastown man was charged on May 20 and bailed to appear at Heidelberg Magistrates Court on June 25 facing numerous charges including cruelty to animals and committing a wildlife offence.

Wildlife Victoria’s Executive Officer Sandy Fernee said, “These shocking displays of cruelty have horrified both animal welfare groups and the public alike calling for tougher penalties for animal cruelty and wildlife offences. It also makes communities feel unsafe to have these acts of cruelty on their door step. We urge anyone who knows of persons committing cruelty to wildlife to please report it to the police. For further help and advice on following up cruelty cases please call the Wildlife Victoria office on 03 9445 0310.