A buck kangaroo banished from his mob showed up at Margaret’s home one day.

A buck kangaroo banished from his mob showed up at Margaret’s home one day and made himself at home, collecting friends far and wide.

We first saw him a few years ago. The mob of eight to 10 kangaroos would visit our large, grassy block at the bottom of the Blue Mountains on the outskirts of Sydney. We live on the edge of the Megalong Valley and they used our property as a kind of thoroughfare to get to the plateau on the other side.

This one kangaroo was huge. We estimated over two metres tall, standing proudly as the powerful alpha male, with his mob around him. Several females had joeys peering out of their pouches or reaching down to nibble on the grass. We loved seeing them and watching them grow.

We didn’t see the mob for a while but then the alpha male came back ... alone. He still stood at a huge height but he had lost weight and seemed to be having trouble hopping. It seems that he had been banished by his mob. My husband, Max, and I assumed a virile young buck had taken his place.

We never saw the mob again but the old buck adopted our place as a kind of retirement home. We called him ‘Kevin’. He spent many hours resting under our pine trees and was quite relaxed whenever we appeared outside. Most days I’d shout at him, ‘Hello Kevin’! After a while, he seemed to know his name and would look up in recognition whenever I called.

Our property is just over a hectare, so we didn’t get under each other’s feet. He had his favourite spots – a nice sunny position under a tree where there was plenty of nice grass to eat during the day. At night, he slept under our verandah. Soon Max stopped mowing the lawn since kangaroos are herbivores and we wanted him to have enough to eat without having to go far.

I snapped some photos of our new housemate and posted them on my Facebook page. ‘Kevin’ quickly became a bit of a celebrity with my friends all around the world. Everyone took an interest in him and people frequently asked me how Kevin was. Some even suggested Kevin should have his own Facebook page!

As time went on, however, we noticed Kevin seemed to be losing his balance and he began to fall over when he hopped.

His bones were sticking out and he looked like he was losing more weight. He seemed to be in pain when he moved; even standing to have a bit of a scratch could unbalance him. He’d taken to sleeping through the night under the veranda, especially when it was raining. Fortunately, the rain had nourished the grass so there was plenty for Kevin to nibble on.

I ached for him and wished I could help. I was dismayed to learn that kangaroos are said to have a life span of about 12 years – such a short time compared with many other animals.

I decided to call the local wildlife rescue service to ask for help. A volunteer named Tracy came to check Kevin out. She found he had an infected toe, which she thought was probably causing him a lot of pain. We discussed options; she’d either take him away or leave him with us as she thought it was only a matter of time. She said he was obviously feeling comfortable and unthreatened here, so she’d leave him with us.

But a few days later, she called back and said she’d been thinking it over and she thought a vet should look at his toe after all. We resolved that she would sedate him and then take him to the vet.

He spent his last night sleeping under our verandah. He emerged into the morning sunlight and the exertion made him lie down to rest under the rhododendrons. I went over and had a long conversation with him; we did some synchronised scratching and both nodded a lot. I looked into my friend’s eyes and told him that the nice lady he had met was coming back to see him and was going to take him to the vet and he would feel much better.

When it was time for him to go we couldn’t find him in his spot around the back under the rhododendrons. We were rather concerned. To our amazement he had moved, which must have been very painful for him, and was sitting directly in front of the driveway at the front of the house, as though he was waiting for her.

It was as if he’d understood what I’d said to him.

Tracy used a syringe on a very long stick to inject Kevin with a sedative. Once he became superdrowsy, Max, Tracy and I bundled him into a blanket and carried him to the car. I patted him and said, ‘Goodbye Kevin, see you soon.’

I felt very sad, as he’d become a part of our family.

The next day, Tracy phoned me to say that the vet had discovered a dreadful, additional problem. Sadly, Kevin had a very large, painful growth in his mouth that was rotting.

There was nothing that could be done, and so Kevin was put to sleep.

Feeling very sad, I announced Kevin’s death on Facebook and responses came from my friends all around the world. People who had actually met Kevin here were united in sadness but thankful that he had found a safe place for his final year and that he is no longer suffering. The fact that Kevin was loved and affectionately admired by so many far and wide was comforting to me.

Portrait artist Sadami Konchi decided to paint a portrait of Kevin in his memory and it was posted on Facebook for all to see.

I missed Kevin terribly for a long time, but am grateful for the care and kindness shown him by the wildlife volunteers. I also feel honoured that a wild animal spent more than a year living with us, feeling unthreatened, safe and comfortable. He gave us the gift of friendship and trust. Thank you Kevin, and RIP.

“I ACHED FOR HIM AND WISHED I COULD HELP.”