29 Reasons This Aussie Bloke Is The World’s Best Surrogate Mom
Chris ‘Brolga’ Barnes rears joeys by hand. Form a queue ladies.
2. He has spent nine years building a sanctuary for orphaned kangaroos, living much of the time in a tin shack with no power or toilet.
BuzzFeed / Simon Crerar
3. After finding a dead kangaroo with a live baby in its pouch by the side of the road in 2005, Barnes devoted his life to saving orphaned joeys.
4. He quit his job and opened a kangaroo rescue service in and around Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.
BuzzFeed / Simon Crerar
5. He has spent thousands of hours scouring the deserts of Australia’s Red Centre rescuing precious orphaned cargo.
7. Luckily for the orphaned joeys of Oz, Brolga is basically the best surrogate mother on the planet!!!
8. He is what is known in Australia as a DEAD SET TRUE BLUE AUSSIE LEGEND!
9. Barnes, who is TWO METRES TALL (6ft 7in), is nicknamed Brolga after the Aboriginal word for the Australian Crane (Grus rubicunda) – a mighty bird known for its amazing mating dance.
Flickr: malcolm_nq / Creative Commons
BuzzFeed stupidly did not ask Barnes about his skills on the dancefloor.
10. Dubbed ‘Kangaroo Dundee’ in a recent hit BBC documentary series, Barnes is ‘The Orphan Hunter’ to Steve Irwin’s ‘Crocodile Hunter’.
11. He now looks after 30 kangaroos of various ages on an enormous 36 hectare outback site outside Alice Springs.
BuzzFeed / Simon Crerar
12. Like all good Aussies, the roos look out for their mates.
13. Following Brolga’s outstanding example.
14. By day the joeys hang out in Brolga’s shack at the Kangaroo Sanctuary
BuzzFeed / Simon Crerar
17. Keeping the joeys snug and warm, Brolga tries to create an environment that feels like being in their mother’s pouch: albeit slightly more crowded!
18. For hand rearing baby kangaroos orphaned in appalling circumstances….
19. It’s pretty clear that Barnes should be up for Mother of the Year EVERY GODDAMN YEAR.
20. This year he was a finalist in the Australian of the Year awards.
21. BuzzFeed recently visited Brolga’s Sanctuary and discovered that kangaroos are really nervous creatures.
24. Particularly the star of the show, Roger, the ALPHA ROO.
25. Who like every red-blooded Aussie bloke likes sex and footie.
26. But no, you can’t borrow his ball.
27. And he’s not sharing his hay either.
28. Sir Chris ‘Brolga’ Barnes, BuzzFeed’s Australian Animal Lover Of The Year.
Simon Crerar is founding editor of BuzzFeed Australia and is based in Sydney.
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