People everywhere marveled over the massive male kangaroo, who could crush metal in his forepaws.
When people envision cuddly kangaroos, they think about soft fur and cozy pouches for the joeys. But one particular kangaroo who hailed from Australia stunned people around the world with his physique. Per CNN, the kangaroo in question was “ripped.”
Roger the kangaroo was rescued as a little joey when his mom was tragically killed in a car accident. Chris Barnes, a former national park tour guide also known as “Kangaroo Dundee,” was the one who pulled Roger from his mother’s pouch after the accident.
Five years after the incident, Barnes built the now 188-acre kangaroo sanctuary in Alice Springs, Australia, where he cared for the kangaroo and his lady friends. When Barnes found the baby, he couldn’t get over his huge ears – and that’s how the male kangaroo earned his name, Roger, for the movie character Roger Rabbit.
But it didn’t take long before Roger grew into those ears.
Everyone was shocked when Roger reached maturity. Roger ended up standing six-feet, seven-inches tall — and weighing 196 pounds, measuring on the mammoth end of the scale. He wasn’t just a big kangaroo, but he also was also extremely muscular. His bulging muscles blew away many observers.
Roger, of course, was a main attraction at the sanctuary — and had 12 partners. There are now more than 50 kangaroos there, Barnes told the BBC.
View this post on Instagram
Rogers favourite workout is crushing his metal feed bucket. (-; Better the bucket than me! Ha ha. #kangaroodundee #kangaroosanctuary #RedCentreNT #SeeAustralia #SeeAustralia @visitcentralaus
A post shared by The Kangaroo Sanctuary (@thekangaroosanctuary) on
“At the beginning, there was a close bond but soon he looked at me as competition and wanted to fight me,” Barnes said.
Barnes loved to educate others about kangaroos — and Roger in particular. He shared on social media that whenever he would be around Roger, the kangaroo would cluck at him, “telling me [Barnes] to get away from his lady kangaroos.”
Roger caught the world’s attention when Barnes recorded him crushing a metal bucket in his grip. The video of this physical feat quickly went viral.
“Roger was as muscular as they come,” Barnes said. “Ever since he was featured on TV and clips went viral, there’s been a lot of love and attention for him.”
Fans of Roger the kangaroo have been reaching out to the sanctuary, expressing their sincere condolences at his passing. Roger was 12 years old, and had battled arthritis and vision trouble. Kangaroos can live up to 14 years, but rarely do so in the wild.
“Now that he passed away, we are again getting a lot of attention… from people around the world,” Barnes said.
Roger will be buried at the sanctuary, his lifelong home, as a solemn way to remember him.
“He will always be here,” Barnes said.
Source: Read Full Article