Staff at Savers Fountain Gate were forced to leap into action when a kangaroo was found out of bounds in their back room last week.
The wayward roo was discovered on the morning of Wednesday 11 September, and staff held the doors of the room shut to keep it contained.
Wildlife rescuer Sarah Cooke from Wildlife Incident Safe Haven (WISH) received a call to come and pick up the misplaced marsupial.
“My reaction when I got the call from Narre Warren police … was, ‘wait, what, Savers, where the hell did he come from!?’” Ms Cooke said.
She and partner James Rotheram jumped into action and approached the roo – who at this point was hopping mad – to try and put a blanket over his head.
“The biggest challenge was how grumpy he was and just trying to avoid damaging things in the store and making sure he didn’t hurt himself on anything,” she said.
The rescuers took the kangaroo down to Greencross Vets to flush the toxins from his system and clean some minor scrapes on his paws and arms, before releasing him in Lysterfield Park – far from any potential run-ins with shopping centres.
“How he got there I don’t know, someone told me they saw him coming down from past Hungry Jacks so from the freeway side.
“He could have got himself lost then maybe something scared him or a dog could have chased him and he just kept running,” Ms Cooke said.
She added that with new housing developments, kangaroos were getting pushed out of their natural homes.
If residents encounter a wild animal in an abnormal situation like the one in Savers, Ms Cooke said they should keep calm.
“Keep your distance and don’t make any loud noises, call wildlife rescue straight away, and try to keep your eyes on it if it’s not contained,” she suggested.
