守護袋鼠孤兒

Esther Acason & Sophia Watson

十多年來，他一直做著一份非凡的工作——在他的袋鼠保護區，照顧失去父母的袋鼠，細心地撫養它們，然后把它們放歸野外。

For more than 10 years, Chris “Brolga” Barns has had an extraordinary job. At his animal refuge, The Kangaroo Sanctuary, he looks after kangaroos that have lost their parents, lovingly raising them and releasing them back into the wild.

As a small child, he used to watch birds in nature with great enthusiasm. His parents always encouraged him to continue this love for nature. He first saw a kangaroo as a child when he watched the TV show Skippy the Bush Kangaroo and fell in love with kangaroos right away. At 17, he became a zookeeper and started looking after orphaned kangaroos. And that's when he found his passion.

He worked as a zookeeper in Broome before starting work as a tour guide. In 2005, he discovered an injured kangaroo on the road between Uluru and Alice Springs. He was able to save the kangaroo baby, but sadly it was too late for the mother. That was the day that changed him forever.

He saved money, quit his job and in 2009 founded The Kangaroo Sanctuary near Alice Springs,right in the middle of Australia's Red Centre. There he re-populates orphaned kangaroos and prepares them to one day return to the wilderness, limiting human contact to make the reintroduction easier.Animals that are particularly badly injured, or could not survive in the wild, remain happily with Chris in the sanctuary. At The Kangaroo Sanctuary, he takes care of 15 orphaned kangaroo babies.And he also takes care of the 60 adult animals that live with him together. Only a few of them were born in the sanctuary and most of them were saved.His wife and two part-time volunteers help him a lot.

“I start the day early in the morning. After everyone's been fed and tended to, I walk through our beautiful nature reserve and watch our rescued kangaroos. It's amazing to see them so happy and healthy. It feels great when the animals are released back into the wild because it means that we have reached our goal. But of course, I miss them as well. When tourists encounter kangaroos on their travels, it's always best to view them from a distance. After all, they are wild animals and must be respected,” he said.