NSW drought: Kangaroos raid towns in search of food and water

Starving kangaroos are invading drought-stricken country towns across NSW, resorting to eating old beer cartons, wastepaper and even trying to graze on astro turf in order to survive.

• Country folk forced to take ‘rotten egg’ showers
• Emergency water deliveries to save country towns

Starving kangaroos are invading drought-stricken country towns, resorting to eating old beer cartons, wastepaper and even trying to graze on astro turf.

As their usual food sources disappear due to months without rain, the normally skittish and wary wild marsupials are being drawn into urban areas in search of green grass on median strips, ovals and gardens.

When those food sources run out they are turning to rubbish tips and dumps where they eke out a meagre existence by eating scrap paper.

One of the starving kangaroos at Grawin, in the opal fields outside Lightning Ridge. Picture: Ilsa Thompson

A kangaroo eating a cardboard beer carton at Grawin, in the opal fields outside Lightning Ridge. Picture: Ilsa Thompson

In Cumborah, south-west of Lightning Ridge, miner’s wife Ilsa Thompson startled a mob of kangaroos huddled in her carport, attempting to dine on an empty beer carton, plastic bags and a polystyrene box

“Cardboard boxes are the only things kangaroos have to eat out here, the drought is that horrendous,” she said.

“I went to the tip last week and saw a kangaroo chomping into whole handfuls of foolscap paper.

“The kangaroos just about attack me every morning when I walk out the back door because they’re just so hungry.”

MORE FROM JACK MORPHET:

‘PEOPLE WOULD RATHER DIE THAN TELL PARENTS THEY’RE ON DRUGS’

BENJI MARSHALL: PLAYERS SHOULD STOP GOING TO THE PUB

The roos have also flooded into the opal mining town of Lightning Ridge, where drivers reversing out of their homes have to give way to kangaroos hopping down their streets.

“You have to watch where you go when you’re driving because kangaroos are all over the road,” Margaret Saunders, owner of the Harlequin cafe, said.

“You have to give way to the kangaroos when you’re leaving your driveway.”

Kangaroos are converging on small towns like Lightning Ridge in search of food and water. Picture: Peter Lorimer

In a sign of their desperation, kangaroos are even trying to eat artificial turf placed by miners outside makeshift tents that dot the opal fields.

The Lightning Ridge oval, which is a rare oasis of greenery in an otherwise parched town, is covered in kangaroos grazing cheek by jowl at dawn and dusk. The parched animals also take advantage of grey water hoses keeping gardens alive.

Eight hours drive southwest and about 200km from the South Australian border, the kangaroos have already ruined the Wilcannia oval.

More kangaroos are being spotted within county towns like Lightning Ridge as the drought worsens in parts of NSW. Picture: Peter Lorimer

An aerial view of the almost dry Darling-Barka river earlier this month in Wilcannia. Picture: Jenny Evans/Getty

Barkandji man and independent candidate for the seat of Barwon, Owen Whyman, walks on the dry bed of the Darling-Barka river. Picture: Mark Evans/Getty

Owen Whyman, who is running as an independent in the state election because of the “disgraceful” state of the Darling River, said kangaroos had invaded Wilcannia and decimated any greenery.

“This year we haven’t got a football ground to play on because of the kangaroos that are coming into town because the river’s dying,” Mr Whyman said.

“They’re everywhere in town, they’re in groups of around 30 to 50.

“They’re at the high school, the football ovals, in the streets and at people’s houses.”

There’s no drought-breaking rain on the horizon, with weather forecast to be drier and warmer than normal throughout April, May and June.

Kangaroos won’t stop invading towns until the drought breaks, according to a spokeswoman from the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage.

“It is not surprising that some kangaroos might even sample cardboard,” the spokeswoman said.