In the heart of Far North Queensland, Dr. Rae and Peter embark on a mission to explore critical conservation efforts to safeguard Australia’s most iconic creatures — the macropods. These remarkable animals, named for their “large feet,” include kangaroos, wallabies and tree kangaroos. The adventure begins with a passionate team of rescuers who care for orphaned joeys, 95% of which are recovered from their mothers’ pouches after tragic vehicle collisions. From there, our hosts journey into the picturesque Atherton Tablelands to explore a private macropod sanctuary. Here, Dr. Rae and Peter witness the delicate rehabilitation of rare tree kangaroos, including an orphaned joey named Pixie, who must conquer a custom “jungle gym” ropes course to relearn the climbing skills essential for her return to the wild.
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This video explores the diverse world of Australian macropods, focusing on the Red kangaroo and the vital conservation work performed by The Agile Project. It highlights the biological characteristics of marsupials and the critical need for rescue centers to protect orphaned joeys from the threats of urban expansion and traffic.
One animal defines Australia's amazing wildlife more than any other. The kangaroo.
Red kangaroos, known as big reds, are the largest of the four kangaroo species and
Australia's biggest land mammals. Standing over six feet tall with a three-foot tail,
their powerful spring-loaded legs propel them at speeds of more than 35 miles an hour.
Covering up to 30 feet in a single bound, the kangaroo's giant feet give them their scientific
name macropods. Macro means large and pod means foot. There are more than 50 species of macropod
in Australia. Kangaroos are the largest. The next size down are wallabies like these agile wallabies
who have given their name to a unique non-profit near Cairns in Queensland.
The Agile Project, founded in 2017 by ecologist Shea Ager, has just opened a brand new rescue
centre. This is absolutely beautiful here. This is your rescue centre for wallabies, right? It sure
is. Our new wildlife rehabilitation centre. We've only been here two days, so it's pretty exciting.
Our timing is perfect. The Agile Project rescues, raises and then releases orphan macropods back to
the wild. This is great. You've got all ages here. We sure do. Macropods not only include kangaroos
and wallabies, but also wallaroos and paddy melons. Wow, look at them, all of this. How many do you
have at this location? We have 27. 27? That one right at the back is a swamp wallaby,
common wallaroo. Nobody really knows how many wallaroos are left in Australia. That can be said
for a lot of macropods and a lot of Australian species. Macropods are also marsupials, a group
of animals that are born premature and complete their development inside a special pouch on their
mother's abdomen. Young marsupials are called joeys and it's time for all these joeys to get
their morning bottles. So this is a whiptail wallaby. They call them the pretty face wallaby
because they've got this beautiful definition down the side of their face. I don't know if they do.
And these are wallaroos. How old are these two? They're around one and a half years old. You are
a two-fisted feeder, I see. Yes, I think I've held eight bottles at once before. Really?
I reckon we'll feed the tiny little paddies now. Okay. We'll head over here. This is Porsche and
Ferrari. These are paddy melons. These are rainforest macropod species. Although they
are so much smaller than the wallaroos, they're actually a lot older in terms of development.
At what point will you decide and where will you decide these will be released? We have some
incredible pre-release and release sites. Once they are ready, weaned off bottles, the gates open
and they get to choose when they come and go back into the enclosure. Oh, I see. Yeah,
so it's like a soft release. How many would you say you've rescued over the years? Oh,
hundreds and hundreds. Hundreds? Probably over a thousand. You become attached to them? Yeah.
What's it like when you have to say goodbye? Oh, it's a definitely bittersweet moment.
Unfortunately, as towns in North Queensland expand into previously wild habitat,
rescuers like Shay have become all too important. Can you tell me a little bit about their history,
how they ended up here? Every single joey that you see is actually an orphan. 95% of them do
come in when we rescue them from their mother's pouch after she's been hit by a car. 95% are
strikes. Yeah. And the other five or so percent are dog attacks. So this is Ayla. Uh-huh. She is
an eastern gray kangaroo. She's very young, but she was one of those unfortunate car strike
victims. She lost her mom to car strike. Let's see if she grabs it. There we go. Look at her go.
There we go. Oh yeah, she's hungry. So you actually are removing them from a pouch from a
mother that's deceased and then try to get them going on a boat. Yeah. We have carers all across
Far North Queensland that do this work. Yeah. Well, this has all been so interesting. I hope
you have success here. I'm very blessed and very lucky to be able to provide these guys with a safe
space.
