PEOPLE are reporting seeing more kangaroos than ever in and around rural residential blocks but wildlife carers warn this is due to development and not an abundance of grass.
“Everywhere I drive in the Scenic Rim, around Rosewood, Mt Walker and Ipswich vast numbers of kangaroos are everywhere,” one local resident said.
“On one paddock on Coopers Road, Willowbank on a small open piece of land I counted 71 kangaroos.
“As a result of this explosion in numbers it has unfortunately resulted in a large number of kangaroo corpses laying on the sides of roads.
“Not only are kangaroos being killed but the cost to vehicles must be starting to rise too.”
He said he made regular travels through Ipswich and across the Scenic Rim, all areas were the same in terms of increased visibility.
Wildlife Rescue carer Cliff Raven said populations were not on the rise rather the animals were being pushed away from wild areas by development.
“I can put it to you this way, we have 21 in care at the moment,” he said.
“That’s 21 joeys taken from a dead mother’s pouch after she’s been hit by a vehicle.”
He said developers put fences up and kangaroos couldn’t get across the road.
“When you get new developments and they put a temporary fence up, where are the animals going to go?” he said.
“They are used to going a certain way and they get run over.
“I am in Tamborine and there’s a bunch of [kangaroos] here, you see them out on the side of the road but some people just bowl through them.”
The cost of raising one orphaned joey is $1,000 a year.
“Depending on the size, you’ve got to feed them about every four hours, a wallaby you’ve got for 14 months and a kangaroo two years,” he said.
“We could do two or three trips a week out to Boonah just to get a joey.
“Police have to go out and shoot the mum, it’s heartbreaking for them too.”
