MEET RUFUS THE COUCH KANGA!
He’s the television-loving, sofa-lounging roo
Anormal evening at Kym and Neil Haywood’s home sees the couple sitting squashed at both ends of their couch while their daughter Jade is upstairs in her room.
There’s no space for her on the sofa because between the couple sits an enormous 60kg kangaroo called Rufus!
“It was obvious from early on that Rufus was a different boy,” Kym laughs. “He’s always loved human company, and even as a baby his favourite place was the couch. From the minute he could pop up onto it, he’d lie with his head dangling off the side. Even now he comes in most nights and sits with us.”
Kym, 51, began looking after kangaroos four years ago when a neighbour asked her to help with an orphaned joey. Soon, Kym had 28 rescued roos on her Port Lincoln, South Australia, property and they all started out being bottle-fed in her living room. “At one stage I had eight joeys inside,” she says. “They need bottles every four hours and want cuddles too. It’s a fulltime job.”
Now running the Pumpkin’s Patch kangaroo sanctuary at their home, Kym explains how most joeys transition to a life outside in the paddock. But Rufus was a reluctant roo.
“He loved snuggles,” she says. “He’d sit on Neil’s lap when he was working on the computer or hop off to the bathroom to play with the toilet paper. He wasn’t sure about the outside world.”
Nowadays Rufus has conceded to a partly wild life.
“The other roos are happy to sit in the dirt but Rufus has a dog bed by the door,” Kym laughs.
And every evening, he lets his family know he’s ready to join them on the lounge.
“At about 5.30pm he’ll be sitting by the back door,” says Kym. “There are chew marks on it from when we haven’t let him in quickly enough! Then he stays until we go to bed at about 10pm.”
Rufus, three, has become a social media star thanks to his cute antics – his Instagram page has 10,000 followers! He’s also appeared on UK TV and receives messages from all over the world.
“People just love him,” says Kym. “We’re really proud but Rufus doesn’t care about being a global sensation. As long as he has his place on the couch, he’s happy!”
Visit @rufusthecouchkangaroo on Instagram.