Millie

(Female - Eastern Grey Kangaroo)

Millie the Eastern Grey Kangaroo arrived on the 6th of October 2007 after being picked up next to her dead Mum on the road between Townsville and Cairns.

Weighing in at 1.5KG, she was a good size for a Joey Kangaroo. Unfortunately though, she had an injured left forearm. A visit to the vet established that it has probably been injured since birth and was not as a result of the car accident.

She had no use of the forearm and it was somewhat emaciated. However, the vet believed that it would not affect her overall development and that she would learn to adjust to having the use of only one forearm.

Millie developed well for the first 3 months and weighed 3.5kg. She steadily gained weight and became a very pretty young girl! Millie's disability with her left forearm didn't seem to hinder her at all. She adapted well to not being able to use it and learned to adjust her balance when hopping! She spent more time out of her pouch and had started to graze in the backyard.

On the 13th of January 2008 Millie suddenly took ill. She was off her milk and showed signs of lethargy. After a visit to the vet, he suspected heat exhaustion caused by the recent hot, humid weather. Despite anti-biotics and corrective action, Millie died in the evening. This all happened within a timeframe of 10 hours.

When Joeys get sick, they go downhill extremely fast. Generally by the time the symptoms are recognised it is already too late.