A sad day on the estate today: while out exploring, Bren came across a lone kangaroo sitting down by the creek. Startled, she tried to hop away, but fell and struggled to get to her feet. She managed to drag itself under some fallen branches to hide.
Having no idea what was going on (was she injured?) I put a call in to Wildlife Victoria and described what had happened. “Sounds like Phalaris toxicity,” came the immediate response. If, like us, you’ve never heard of this, Wikipedia comes to the rescue: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phalaris_(plant).
Unfortunately, there is no cure for Phalaris poisoning. Afflicted animals will gradually lose any ability to move or even feed themselves, and will either die from starvation or be easy prey for other animals. It was sad, but the best thing was to end her suffering and have the poor thing euthanised.
Welcome to the country…
