Kangaroos spotted on Maroondah Highway in Blackburn

Drivers were shocked to see several kangaroos bouncing along a busy road in the eastern suburbs, but a wildlife carer says sightings are becoming more common.

Kangaroos interrupted peak hour traffic in Blackburn on Wednesday. Picture: Steve Tanner

Blackburn has a few kangaroos loose in its top paddock — except peak hour traffic is not the ideal environment for them to roam.

Several kangaroos were sighted bounding along Blackburn’s busy streets early on Wednesday, February 27, including across Maroondah Highway during morning peak.

Police were called to Whitehorse Rd as the furry friends disrupted traffic and startled drivers near Blackburn Primary School just after 8am.

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The Nunawading highway patrol members who responded found three kangaroos and tried to corner them in a side street.

One got away, the second was tranquillised by a vet and taken to a sanctuary and the third was coaxed back into the bush in the afternoon, according to police.

The kangaroos on the loose in Blackburn. Photo: Nunawading highway patrol

But it seems there were more than just three roos doing laps of Blackburn.

On Whitehorse Leader’s Facebook page someone reported seeing a kangaroo on Burnt St, Nunawading at 6.15am, while others spotted them checking out the cafes at Blackburn Station Village and down south on Eley Rd.

Other readers spotted roos making their way north on Larch St, Elder St and Diana Drive.

One reader said she’d sadly discovered a dead kangaroo on Whitehorse Rd near Springvale Rd about 7am, and others noted a dead kangaroo on the Eastern Freeway near the Middleborough Rd exit.

Reader Rio Kitaoji has spotted a kangaroo in his Vermont backyard.

Another confused kangaroo was seen near the Blackburn Rd on-ramp.

Many people commented their disbelief at the animals turning up on the suburban streets.

Carla Penn, who runs wildlife shelter Warriors 4 Wildlife, said a lot of kangaroos lived in the suburbs, including around Blackburn Lake.

She said the roos were suffering from the disappearing bush corridors they used to travel from place to place, and had even been turning to using the clear space along train lines to move around.

“That’s how bad our wildlife corridors are now,” she said.

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Ms Penn said kangaroos often moved around in search of food, water and mates, and in doing so frequently became spooked by cars, dogs and humans.

The rescue volunteer said the lack of rain at the moment would be particularly encouraging kangaroos to travel to roadsides in search of grass and water.

If anyone spots a stranded kangaroo phone Warriors 4 Wildlife on 0401 811 937.