In Australia, kangaroos are everywhere. Considered pests by some, these are an iconic species to be cared for, consider Lorita Baumann and Kevin Clapson. For six years, they have worked as volunteers for the organization WIRES, which comes to the rescue of wild animals in danger, in large numbers during the major bush fires of 2019 and 2020. Discover the refuge where the couple takes care of injured kangaroos or young orphans.
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Lorita Baumann with four baby kangaroos drinking formula. She and her husband, Kevin Clapson, are volunteers at WIRES, an organization that helps injured or endangered animals. They take care of kangaroos that need assistance, orphaned baby kangaroos. Marie-France Coallier Le Devoir
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The couple’s home address in East Lynne, just off Batesman Bay on the Pacific Rim, is more than three hours’ drive south of Sydney. Marie-France Coallier Le Devoir
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Lorita and Kevin were taking care of injured kangaroos or young orphans in the shelter they built on their property three years ago when the fires decimated everything in late 2019. Marie-France Coallier Le Devoir
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Formula for baby kangaroos prepared by the couple Marie-France Coallier Le Devoir
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Lorita Baumann brings the formula and is greeted by a baby kangaroo at the door. Marie-France Coallier Le Devoir
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It’s dinner time. Lorita placed the bottles in small metal cylinders attached to a large wooden beam, at the height of the little marsupials. Hungry, they rushed around her. Marie-France Coallier Le Devoir
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Kangaroos are stretching their legs in the wide, fenced-in area behind their refuge. Marie-France Coallier Le Devoir
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In a large album, Lorita keeps information and some memories of the kangaroos that she and her spouse have cared for over the years. She shows us the photo of a baby kangaroo, still very small, found in her mother’s pocket, hit by a car. Marie-France Coallier Le Devoir
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Three young kangaroos bask in “pockets” of sheets suspended from a wooden structure, installed to recreate the maternal pocket. Marie-France Coallier Le Devoir
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“I consider myself a bit like their mom,” says Lorita. Marie-France Coallier Le Devoir
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Today there are twice as many kangaroos as people in Australia. From a population of less than 30 million in 2010, they have grown to almost 50 million today. This report was financed with the support of the Transat-Le Devoir International Journalism Fund. Marie-France Coallier Le Devoir
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