Family in Kangaroo Island raises orphaned joey found in dead mother's pouch

A woman has been hand-raising an orphaned baby kangaroo after rescuing her from the pouch of her dead mother.

Tiffany Banton, 33, found the mother kangaroo lying on the side of a road after being hit by a car in December 2023, with the joey sticking out of the pouch. Tiffany and her daughter Maggie, seven, have been caring for the kangaroo ever since.

Tiffany, a mother-of-three from Kangaroo Island, South Australia, said: "We named her Star after the road where we found her. She was just nine months old at the time and now she's 18 months and growing strong."

With the help of a special formula from a vet, the family has bottle-fed Star, with Maggie playing a key role in caring for the joey. Tiffany said: "Maggie is very maternal and loves small animals, so she took Star under her wing, always wanting to feed her and look after her."

Star has also formed a special bond with the family dog Hazel and they even sleep in the same bed together. Tiffany said: "They've grown up together and their bond is lovely."

"Star doesn't like being alone and will find someone in the house to be with. Either she is on Maggie's bed or in the the dog's bed with Hazel. And if she is alone she makes a sound to make sure we come find her."

The family had unique challenges raising the joey including toilet training and keeping her warm with an electric blanket to simulate the warmth of a mother's pouch. Tiffany said, "We had to stimulate her by rubbing her bum to help her wee and poop, just like a mother kangaroo would do in the pouch."

As Star continues to grow, she's slowly starting to spend more time in the wild. Tiffany said: "She stays with us during the day, but at night she goes off into the wild, and eventually she'll stop coming back."