Boat crew rescue exhausted kangaroo found 3km out to sea off South Australia

A young kangaroo has been pulled to safety from the sea in South Australia, after a boat crew spotted him paddling about three kilometres (more than a mile and a half) from land.

The skipper, Ryan Smith, saw the animal in the waters of Boston Bay and told his colleagues there was a roo in the water. Nobody believed him at first. The crew turned the boat around to take a look, and sure enough, a juvenile kangaroo was out there, apparently aware that the boat was his best chance of getting out of the sea.

Conditions were calm, and the vessel’s water door allowed the crew to get down almost to the level of the lapping waves. The kangaroo was so worn out that driver Jake Murray was able to scoop him up with little fuss.

Mr Murray, who is also a farmer, knows animals well. He explained to ABC News Australia that he kept his hold gentle but firm, mindful of the kangaroo’s “powerful and mighty” legs. Before long, the exhausted youngster dozed off in his arms.

Also on board was Miguel Villarroel, a diver from the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, who asked whether this sort of thing happened often. “Mate, I’ve never seen this in my life,” Murray said he told him.

The rescue ended some hours later on the shore, where the kangaroo hopped away under his own steam, a cracking result for an animal that had looked to be in real trouble.

How he came to be so far out remains a mystery. Murray, for his part, offered a tongue-in-cheek theory: that the kangaroo had enjoyed a big night, taken a dare and gone for a splash.

Kangaroos do sometimes stray close to the water, and it is not the first time one has needed help. In 2022, a 17-year-old rookie lifeguard in New South Wales carried out her first-ever rescue after a kangaroo was knocked into the sea by waves as it scampered over rocks. Using her rescue board, she kept its head above water and brought it back to the beach.

Why it matters

Wild animals in trouble at sea rarely have anyone nearby to notice, let alone the means to help. Here, a sharp-eyed skipper and a crew willing to turn back made the difference, and the right know-how kept a frightened animal calm. It is a reminder that a little attentiveness, and a steady pair of hands, can give wildlife a second chance.