Wildlife rescuers have become overnight parents to an orphan joey after its mother and six other kangaroos were killed in Victoria.
Volunteers were called to Cardinia Reservoir Park near Emerald on Monday morning following reports that a mob of seven kangaroos had been hit by a car.
WISH Wildlife Rescue volunteer Sarah Cooke found four kangaroos shot dead, and five others that were badly injured.
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“Something just didn’t sit right with me to think they were hit by a car,” Cooke told 9News.
She found one seven-month-old joey sitting next to its dying mother.
“They’ve literally been sat in their mum’s pouch all night while they’ve been dead, wondering why they’re not moving,” she said.
“It’s so hard to comprehend why someone would do this
“It’s horrible. These animals have done nothing wrong.”
Police are looking for the people responsible for the shootings but will have to contend with the park’s size and isolated location.
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The closest main road is more than 2.5 kilometres away.
“Being where we are, it’s very much a fish bowl environment, so with a .22 caliber gun you’re probably not going to hear anything,” Cooke said.
Anyone who might have noticed anything unusual between Sunday night and Monday morning has been asked to contact police.