The moment a kangaroo disrupted school rush traffic on the Surf Coast Highway

Commuters on the Surf Coast Highway were joined by an unusual traveller on Monday morning.

Kerry Doughty captured this photo of a kangaroo in peak hour on the Surf Coast Highway at Armstrong Creek this morning. Photo: Facebook

A morning commute took an usual turn on Monday, when a kangaroo found its way into rush hour traffic.

Armstrong Creek’s Kerry Doughty had just dropped her son off at school in Torquay, when she noticed something out of the ordinary about one of her fellow commuters.

Ms Doughty said she was surprised at the sight of the marsupial weaving its way through cars on the busy highway.

“It was fairly busy. It was just after 9am so there were a few cars on the road,” Ms Doughty said.

Kerry Doughty captured this photo of a kangaroo in peak hour on the Surf Coast Highway at Armstrong Creek this morning. Photo: Facebook

“It didn’t look that old, it just looked a bit frightened … because there wasn’t so much traffic on the road, it wasn’t sure where to go.”

Luckily, the lost marsupial made it across the road, safe and sound.

A Wildlife Victoria spokeswoman said the organisation had received calls about the roo, but she said luckily it was not injured.

She said road accidents was one of the biggest causes of injury or death for wildlife, with kangaroos being particularly common.

If kangaroos on the side of the road had crosses on their sides, it meant the pouch had been checked by a volunteer, the spokeswoman said, as joeys could survive for 10 days in their mother’s pouch.

Development across Torquay’s north has seen more and more incidents involving kangaroos, with several close calls over the past few years.

In 2018, activists called for the relocation of a mob of kangaroos that had been forced to live among bulldozers, as their feeding areas were taken over by development between the Surf Coast Highway, Coombes Rd and Messmate Rd.

There was a particularly odd incident in 2016, when a kangaroo burst through a Torquay couple’s window and hopped into bed with them.

If you see a kangaroo by the road, call Wildlife Victoria on 8400 7300.

Originally published as The moment a kangaroo disrupted school rush traffic on the Surf Coast Highway