Emu Ridge Eucalyptus and Craft Gallery
Farmers and Distillers of 100% Pure Australian Eucalyptus Oil

Hi my name is Bev Turner and I am a carer of orphaned animals. I started hand rearing orphans about 14 years ago and over the years have reared many Kangaroos, Wallaby's and Possums. They have all been set free on our property and are free to come and go as they please. Emu Ridge Farm consists of 250 hectares. 80 hectares of native bush, 50 hectares of plantations and 2 fresh water wetland areas the rest, cleared land. Our vision is to fence our whole farm as a sanctuary to protect our wildlife, and we envisage doing nocturnal and educational tours on the farm in the future. We can also breed and sell from our wildlife to other wildlife parks and sanctuaries. Its all part of sustainable farming. We also believe that if an animal has to be culled as many are on Kangaroo Island that they should be utilized for their meat and leather. At the moment these animals are wasted feeding the flies and feral cats. (You can read more about this on our environmental section.)

Tuesday 23rd March 2010 Luna Wow Bob has been long gone and I cant believe that Luna is 13 nearly 14 months old her sickness is behind her and she has been great since about December, thank goodness. She is adventuring outside alot more at night and still has 3 bottles a day and loves her bed and basket at work during the day. Tuesday 2nd March 2010 Rosie For those of you that knew our faithful dog Rosie she died last month at the age of 15. She has been a part of Emu Ridge all that time and had many many pats from visitors over the years. In the end she was blind and deaf and had diabetes for 3 years. Rest in pease Rosie she had a great life and is buried at the side of the shop by the bird bath at Emu Ridge. Saturday 23rd January 2010 Bob and Luna Bob is drinking less milk and more solids wallabies are friendly when in the pouch but as soon as they are ready they go back into the wild and dont love you anymore they are not like kangaroos Wednesday 23rd December 2009 Bob and Luna Well Luna has picked up the only thing that keeps her going is crushed up roo poo sounds horrible but it stops her runs. Bob is doing well and adventuring out at night alot more it wornt be long and he will be gone Friday 23rd October 2009 Wallaby Bob Meet wallaby Bob he is a Tammar wallaby he is doing very well and likes the comfort of Luna who is still struggling away with the shits it goes away and then comes back. We try antibiotics, charcol, hot poker in the milk all sorts but nothing works for long poor girl Wednesday 23rd September 2009 Luna Luna has been very sick, I have never had to work so hard. She is so skinny and sickly that I feel cruel sometimes keeping her alive. Thursday 30th July 2009 Luna Well amazing, good news, all of a sudden she started to get better, just when I thought she couldnt go on. She now weighs 1400gms. She is drinking 125ml to 150ml a day. I am feeding her 3 to 4 hourly in the day and 6 hours now at night. She has grown alot more hair and is getting very inquisative. She is still totally in her pouch but starting to nibble on native plants that I give her. Wednesday 15th July 2009 Luna Well how things can change. Luna was doing well but all of a sudden went down hill. She has a bacterial infection. I have to enject her with antibiotics, she has bad diaorreoh and has lost alot of weight. To keep her alive I am giving her vitrate and injecting saline solution under her skin to keep her hydrated. I am feeding her every two to three hours. She weights 1250 gms. Am very tired and really hope she makes it but she is very week. Tuesday 30th June 2009 New Joey Luna I recieved a call on the weekend someone had found an orphaned roo. She is a little girl about 4 and a half months, old very small. She weighs 1200 grams and is drinking about 100ml per day. I have been feeding her every 3 to four hours so am feeling very tired at the moment she is doing really well. The heat mat over heated her once but i saved her in time. Nikky and Maggie are also fine Maggie comes around for a feed now and again and Nikky's jaw has healed a bit more and there is so much nice green grass around at the moment that she has plenty to eat. So she is off with her new found family,I only see her about once a week. Thursday 30th April 2009 Nikky Just took Nikky to the vet recently, unfortunatly what I knew deep down was revealed, her jaw is still broken it has healed slightly as the fibrous tissue is holding it together. Hopefully it will get stronger as more tissure grows other wize it means another operation. She is living in the wild more again and has 2 to 3 bottles aday. So we'll just keep ploding along. All the other animals are fine. Millie hasnt been around latley cant wait to see her baby it will be putting its head out soon. Maggie runs on the roof each night but is totally on her own now. Cheers Bev Monday 13th April 2009 Nikky Well its nearly 2 weeks since the wires were removed. I am still afraid to wobble her jaw incase it isnt quite healed. She comes to work in the mornings and leaves when too many visitors come through and she is home every night, she is still drinking 3 bottles so she would not be eating alot of other food as it is highly nutritional. She is eating apples that fall off our tree which are hard to chew and grass. I think the only way to tell is get an xray which i will do next week. And thankyou again for the visitors who kindly donated in the last few weeks another $105.00 most of which was thanks to one generous lady! $200.00 more and the vet bill will be covered thanks again hope you all had a lovely Easter. Bev Thursday 2nd April 2009 Nikky Hi well time has flown by Nikky has put on so much weight and is a fat little girl again. Its 6 weeks now since the operation and all was well. Two days ago Nikkys button broke under her chin this is what made the pressure to keep the wires tight. After a phone call to the vet he told me to remove the wires. Not a nice job, my son helped me otherwize it would have been another costly vet bill. Her jaw is crooked but have my fingers crossed it has healed will give her jaw a wobble tonight i didnt want to upset her anymore after removing the wires which she took amazingly well. Thankyou so much to those of you that have come through the shop and donated money to cover her bill I have $180.00 nearly half way there. Thanks again and will let you know whats happening. NIkky is still drinking 3 bottles a day as i know it is hard for her to chew still. Cheers for now Bev Thursday 2nd April 2009 Maggie and Millie Maggie is living on her own now. She comes down for a treat and a cuddle at night but is now a real possum living in the wild. Millie is still coming home regularily, she lets me put my hand in her pouch and feel the little one. It is so hot in there, it is still a baldy but should be growing fur soon it must be about 15 to 16 weeks old 4 months. Wednesday 4th March 2009 Nikky Nikky has put on heaps of weight and looks good, she is still eating soft baby food and having bottles but goes off with the wild roos nibbling on things at night. I took her to the vet today for a check up and all is well, the button under her chin is pulling a bit and she has a sore that i need to put cream on but other than that all is well. Will keep you posted. Tuesday 24th February 2009 Maggie and Millie Well look at Maggie she is going really well. She has grown heaps, she laps her milk three times a day and loves grapes, almonds and apples. She lives at home and work in a beany, we try and keep her awake in the day time so that she sleeps in the night. A bit backward for a possum who is noctournal but she is used to it. Millie is coming home every night at the moment she is very protective of her baby and we cant see it at the moment. She loves a cuddle and we give her some food. She is still jelous of Nikky and always growls at her. Nikky is fine Sunday 22nd February 2009 Nikky Well Nikky has diorreah, I think half from stress being enclosed and from the antibiotics. I cant stand seing her so upset so I let her out. She followed me and came straight to the house. She is happy and is home every morning and night. Sometimes I take her to work but she gets a bit stressed when there is too many people. I have never done this before but have put a donation tin so that we get some donations to cover some of her vet bill. It was $500.00 alot of money for us. As a carer of orphaned animals you dont get any support, you do it out of love, all caring and costs are ours. I know Nikky has bought alot of love to many people who have seen her so we had to try and save her. I feed her porridge mixed with LSA and Farax baby food she can only eat soft things and she has two to three bottles a day. She is looking much better. The wires will be removed in 8 weeks and the xray will show if it has joined back together. Fingers crossed. Saturday 7th February 2009 Nikky Nikky was doing well but disappeared. She is on heat so I am guessing a male took her away. She returned on the 14th very very skinny with scratches all over her and a very sore mouth. I nursed her at home over the weekend giving her 3 bottles a day and took her to the vets on Monday. After an Xray we have Bad news, she has a broken bottom jaw, her other injuries have healed. Nikky has an opperation, her jaw is wired back together and she just has a button and some wire under her chin to show for it. Thats on the outside, I know there is wire everywhere inside her mouth, poor girl. I have to give her antibiotics and antinflamatories for 5 days and only milk to drink. She hates them and me at the moment as she is shut up and I never enclose my animals, they are always free to come and go as they want. Will keep you posted. Wednesday 28th January 2009 Nikky in trouble Nikky came into the shop on the 28th coughing blood she doesnt look well at all. Ive phoned the vet and they think that she has been hit by a car and has internal injuries. I have taken her home where she is resting I havent taken her to work for 1 week so that she can heal and not be annoyed by the visitors. They cant help but touch her. I hope she will be ok her mouth looks sore as well. Tuesday 20th January 2009 Nikky Nikky is getting too big for her basket and is spending more and more time in the bush, she usually leaves work about lunch time and meets us home a night. She is only having 2 bottles a day now. Millie's baby is growing she is coming home more often. Thursday 8th January 2009 Maggie Meet Maggie she is a brushtail possum a local school teacher named Maggie found her, her mum had been dead for about 16 hours and little Maggie was latched onto her dead mums back with her head in the pouch still holding the teat. Maggie is about 4 and a half months old. I am teaching her to lap milk rather than have a bottle and she is doing really well. Wednesday 24th December 2008 Merry Xmas MILLIE AND NIKKY We hope that everyone has a lovely Xmas and a safe happy and healthy new year. Some great news on Millie. She is having a baby. It is about one month old now about the size of your thumb. She lets us open her pouch and see. We only see her about once a week now, she lives where she should with the other roo's on our property. I have also been rearing a new roo called Nikky, she has grown so fast and is now 15 months old and doing very well still has 3 bottles a day and living with the other roos at night but is home every morning to come to work with us. Once again until next year. Take care from Bev Larry and the staff at Emu Ridge PS Merry Xmas from Rosie and the Emus! Friday 24th October 2008 NIKKY AND MILLIE Both roos are doing well. They dont like each other yet. Now we have the same thing over again this time Millie has to get used to a new one. Millie still has a bottle morning and night and is still in her basket at work. Getting rather large for it though. Nikky has 4 bottles a day she is very independant and goes off at night already by herself she is always home in the mornings though. Sunday 10th August 2008 Nikky We have a new addition one of the tour guides dropped off Nikky her mum was badly injured on the road she is about 10 to 11 months old. Have never had one so afraid she was out of the pouch all night trying to get back in poor little thing but she is going great now. Monday 4th August 2008 Roxy Well, I have some sad news today. Roxie died last week. I did not get an ortopsy on her as too it was too expensive. She was either hit by a car, as she had a sore hip and then got breathing difficulties, diarrhoea and very disorientated. It was devastating as she has been my sookiest baby with all the injuries she had when I first got her. Very sad. The vet seemed to think she died of TB which is common for our roos, they catch it from a bacteria from the water birds. Millie is in morning as well, she hangs around like a bad smell and wont leave anyone alone. Poor thing, she has lost her best friend. Wednesday 4th June 2008 Roxy and Millie Roxie and Millie are doing really well, Roxie has been spoilt with the cold rainy weather and she gets a bowl of milk each night Millie is still having 1 to 2 bottles a day. The two of them are inseperable now and some mornings when the weather is nice they go off together and I dont see them until that night. Sunday 4th May 2008 Maggie Maggie has flown the coop. She started dissapearing for two to three days at a time and then would be back as friendly and as hungry as ever and then one day she just didnt come back. I hope the Magpie family she has found love her as much as we did, it is great when they go back into the wild like that, and the Maggie families do adopt extras sometimes. Thursday 6th March 2008 Updates on Roxy, Millie and Maggie Hi everyone well the time is flying Maggie is a real character and still likes to sleep with Millie I think she thinks its her sister! Maggie is still demanding food every half an hour and likes to walk around with the visitors. Millie is now 11 month old and doing really well, she is drinking 3 bottles a day now and now sleeps outside at night. Roxy and Millie are now mates, it took a while and they are always waiting by the back door in the mornings, Roxy will still have a bottle if I let her. Millie and Roxy go off eating together at night which is great. Roxy now hides from the visitors and goes off sleeping under some trees during the day, but is always home every night and morning. Cheers Bev Tuesday 22nd January 2008 Millie Hi All, Millie is doing very well the visitors are enjoying her and she adores all the attention all day. She has 4 x 60ml bottles a day and the magpie and Millie are now great friends. Roxy is still not happy! Roxy is still having 1 bottle a day. Photos are of Eliza a little girl who visited who got to feed Millie and Millie hanging around in her artificial pouch waiting for the next cuddle and feed. Cheers Bev Friday 11th January 2008 Meet Millie Millie was given to us by Helen, Ossian and her family. Millie was found a few months ago and had suffered a dislocated hip due to the accident with her mum being killed by a car. Millie had a few Bowen or massage treatments and her hip recovered very quickly. Millie is now 9 months old. Her adopted family loved her very much but had to leave Kangaroo Island and were unable to take Millie with them. Don't worry guys she is in good hands. Will do an update on Millie soon. Roxy and Maggie are very jealous at the moment but another few days and they will all love each other. Maggie still comes around for her half hourly feeds as she is still young and runs around entertaining people that go on tour. Roxy although an adult is still having a bottle a day. She is banished from the house at the moment until her and Millie get on, she is not happy about that either but she'll survive! Bye for now Bev Thursday 27th December 2007 Merry Xmas everyone. From Rosie, Roxy, the Emus, Maggie, Larry, Bev and the staff at Emu Ridge Roxy - Roxy 19 months now is now having one bottle a day and she has a boyfriend who visits her once a month! So it wont be long and she will be pregnant. She is living more in the wild now during the day but still always comes home at night and we sometimes see her in the mornings, some visitors are still lucky enough to see her but most of the time in the day she sleeps in the bushes with the other roo's. She doesn't fit in her basket anymore, she is nearly an adult. Maggie - Maggie is an Australian Magpie she was found injured on the road. A damaged wing no voice and a sore foot. But we have had her for nearly one month now as she is going great she was only a baby so has now learnt to fly and comes around the shop every half and hour for food, she is fed puppy dog food and it has all the nutrition she needs to grow healthy. See the photo of Rosie our dog the Magpie it snuggles up to her and thinks she is her mother. Funny things. Monday 22nd October 2007 Latest news on Roxy, now 17 months old. Well Roxy is still doing great not much has changed in the last few months she has grown fatter and is more independent. She is 17 months old now, she still has 2 bottles a day and loves to sit on the couch with Larry and I at night watching TV. She goes outside when we go to bed and goes off with my other roos. She is always waiting by the back door every morning. Most days she still sleeps in her basket in the shop, mind you she is getting a bit big for it now but with the weather getting warmer she likes to find a quiet spot outside for a sleep. She knows her way from our shop to the house which is 1km away so happily hops from one to the other and she still travels in the car with me a lot of the time. Cheers Bev Thursday 20th September 2007 Emus are doing well Emus are doing well and growing fast. Lonely is a very proud Dad hissing at the visitors as they walk by. Thursday 2nd August 2007 Lonely the Emu for those of you wondering Lonely hatched out 11 babies from his 13 eggs unfortunately a nasty bird has been feasting on them but these three cuties remain and are growing stronger every day Cheers for now Bev Wednesday 1st August 2007 Roxy Update Roxy is going really well. We have been busy renovating our shop and moving to our old shop and back again, plus I cant find my camera at the moment so appologies for not updating sooner. We had a scare last month Roxy disappeared for 3 days. We thought that someone had stolen her. It was very wet and cold and we thought that she had no hope but she was found scratching on the door of a neighbours farm. I was so happy to see her. Roxy is still drinking 3 bottles a day even though she is over 12 months old she still loves living in her pouch and will for a long while yet. She is eating grass and native plants at night with Katie another roo I hand reared last year but is always waiting by the back door for me every morning. Will get a photo soon. Tuesday 1st May 2007 JP and Roxy both doing really well! JP The little scally wag is doing great he has found a home outside now and comes to our door each night he still likes to lap some milk and eat some almonds and have a cuddle, If we leave him inside now he gets himself into a bit of trouble! But he really is an independent little boy now. Roxy Wow time has gone by so quickly she is doing well nearly 11 months old now she now weighs 5.5kg imagine the poor mum hoping around with that weight in her pouch. If Roxy was with her real mum she would be trying to get her to stay out of the pouch as much as possible but Roxy with still be in her artificial one for a while yet she will still only drink her bottle when she is snuggled in her pouch she drinks 4 x 100ml bottles per day now. She likes exploring a little bit but prefers to be very close. At night time she now sleeps in her bag under the verandah outside so she can hop out and eat grass if she wants but she prefers to stay in her bag, its still a bit scary in the big wide world. With some rain at long last and some grass growing she will start to eat that and rely less on the milk to sustain her. She goes to the toilet on her own now instead of when I make her go, you cant toilet train roos unfortunately when they get older, so now if I'm not carefull she will make a mess wherever she feels like, great!! I still love her though. Age 5 months Age 11 months Age 10 months Age 11 months Thursday 1st March 2007 New Comer 1st March - a brush tail possum Well we now have a 6 month old brush tail possum. He has been named JP by two girls that came into our shop. JP is an orphan he still lives in the pouch and If his mum was still alive he would be riding around on her back at night. I have had him two weeks now so if anyone has a photo of him when I first got him I would appreciate it. He started off with a bottle 5 times a day but he is now lapping his milk, I still have to make him go to the toilet but he should be ready to set free in about 2 months, alot less work than a kangaroo.   They are very cheeky and make great pets. Friday 23rd February 2007 Update on Roxy Roxy is doing really well she is 8 months old now and weighs 3.5kg. She only has four bottles a day now about 50ml per feed and is starting to hop around and explore a little bit. She is still a very fussy feeder and doesnt like anyone else to give her a bottle. She is the sookiest roo I have ever had. Probably because of her earlier injuries. As anyone knows who has cuddled her she thrives on attention. Monday 1st January 2007 Bad News...!! 1st January BAD NEWS but it was last year so lets hope the new year brings only good things. Well I have some bad news we went out New Years Eve and came home at 12.30 because we had to work the next day. I got out of my car and Ruby who is now 12 months old sleeps under our verandah and before we go to bed we bring her inside as she likes to get in and out of her pouch to eat grass now. Well she wasn't in her pouch I called her and then saw the shadow of a big sheep dog. My heart just sank. I heard Roxy calling to me from inside the house and went to see her she had jumped out of her pouch and looked really upset as did our dog Rosie. The dog came to the door and Rosie growled at her I let Rosie out and she chased it away. Unfortunately it was too late for Ruby we found her on our front lawn dead. I am soo upset and soo angry. I didn't want to show you this but Larry my husband said that people should know what happens as it is reality. Someone obviously a neighbour has not chained their sheep dog and it has come on our property and killed our pet. It would have smelt human on her, I don't understand! This is one of the reasons why we want to fence our farm as a sanctuary to protect our native animals. This is the third time in 14 years that this has happened to me. It is just heart breaking! So now I am asking you. We cannot afford to fence our farm on our own and I am wondering if we make an account calling it the "Emu Ridge Ruby Fencing Fund" and donations received from people like you will go towards our fence. We will keep an update of how the fence is going through our site and something at our entrance with the donors names. To fence our whole farm we need a seven kilometre fence. What do you think? Please give me some advise or thoughts on my idea. Contact me, Bev, here. PS On a happier note Roxy had her plaster removed on New Years Day and is doing really well. I'm sure she will miss her adopted sister they were good friends. Sunday 24th December 2006 Merry Christmas from Emu Ridge Both Roos are doing really well Roxy cant wait to get out of her bag and start exploring she has to have the plaster on for four weeks so not long to go. We wish you all a Lovely Xmas and a Safe and Happy New Year. Monday 4th December 2006 Roxy's accident Oh I feel like a terrible mother I left Ruby playing outside and Roxy hanging in her bag on a chair. I went back down to work for 1 your and when I got home I found the chair and bag on the ground and Roxy nowhere to be found and Ruby was clinging to her bag looking scared. Roxy still not able to hop so I know she couldn't be far away. You will never believe it I found her 500 metres away with some wild kangaroos. I believe they knocked over her bag and she must have gotten her foot broken and must have followed them. I am so glad I found her she would have died over night. So $300.00 later she has a plaster and is doing fine. Ruby is doing really well. Monday 20th November 2006 Meet Ruby, another new joey kangaroo We have a new addition to the family, her name is Ruby another family had hand reared her for a few months and she was getting a bit much for them so guess what Roxy has a sister. Ruby is 11 months old and is very friendly and social she loves all the visitors in the shop giving her a pat she has a bottle every four hours and when taken out of her bag goes to the toilet by herself she eats grass and nibbles on lots of native plants. She loves Roxy but Roxy doesn't like her at the moment. Roxy just loves her mum. Wednesday 8th November 2006 Roxy is thriving...! Roxy is growing at a huge rate her fur has thickened up even more she really looks like a kangaroo now. She weighs 1350gms and is six months old. She is sleeping through the night yay! I am feeding her 3 hourly now just during the day. She is starting to get inquisitive and poke her head out more and look around and is staying awake longer. She still cant walk or should I say hop yet. But it wont be long before she will start to get in and out of the pouch, her teeth are looking good nearly ready to start eating. Monday 2nd October 2006 Roxy takes over from Rita Another carer on Kangaroo Island heard that my little roo died and thought I would like another one as she was very busy and had just been given a new orphan. Great I have only had one week of normal sleep but I love it so here she is. Roxy weighs 1100gms and her fur is just starting to thicken up, she is five nearly six months old. She is having 2 -3 hourly feeds in the day and 3-4 hourly feeds at night. She has a broken tail from the accident when her mother was killed but apart from that very strong and healthy. She was also covered in ticks. I was shocked as she is still totally in her mothers pouch. So her mother must have been riddled with them. Tuesday 26th September 2006 The end of Rita Hi there. well here I go!!! Rita was doing great until last week when she got an upset stomach, she didn't get bad diarrhoea but it was enough that she wasn't putting on weight. I took her to the vet and they said she was still in good condition and was about 5% dehydrated which if fine they gave me something called Lomotil to slow down her gut and let her absorb her food better. Two hours after I gave her this medication she had a convulsion or fit and died. I am so sorry. I tried so hard and she did so well, I am broken hearted and miss the cute little girl. So this will be the last update on Margarita. Just know that she was loved and she loved me back she also bought alot of joy to many people in her short life and many people will have pictures of her in there photo albums. Yours Bev The last picture of Rita now covered in very fine fur. This photo is a happier ending photo of Katie the kangaroo and Reg the possum who grew up and are now happily living half in the wild and half at home. Monday 11th September 2006 Looking after the growing Joey, Rita • Rita inside her beany. Rita is doing really well. She has recovered from her breathing problems and has a fine layer of hair all over her body. She must have only been four months old because she is still only 5 months old according to her size. Cant wait till she has hair as I will stop feeding her every 4 hours in the night and go back to once, am starting to feel very weary, working every day as well. She is still being fed every 2 hours during the day. My heat mat arrived but its still very hard to keep the correct temperature which means Rita is still sleeping with us!! If you are wondering as a few people have asked the question, I have to stimulate her to go to the toilet everytime I feed her so she never makes a mess. This is how the mum kangaroo keeps her pouch clean. But she eats it!! Toilet paper will do from me! Rita has not put on any weight but apart from that I think she is doing very well. Wednesday 23rd August 2006 Rita's Progress, from Bev Rita now weighs 1kg. She is so cute and loves cuddles so much. She has been fighting for her life though poor little girl. She has a cough and fluid on her lungs, she may have inhaled some milk into her lungs. The vet said that she is too young to have antibiotics so we have to see how she goes. She could have pneumonia. I hope not, she is strong and I actually think she has improved in the last few days. I am now feeding her 4 hourly at night again to 2 hourly thank goodness and every 2 to 3 hours in the day. I have ordered a heat mat for night times I think she has out welcomed sleeping with my husband! She has just started to grow hair. Yey! Oh I forgot last week Rita got bitten by something and her little face swelled up and her arms but the swelling went down over night. Lucky! Well that's all for now talk to you soon. Bev Tuesday 15th August 2006 Caring for Rita, from Bev It has been hard to keep the temperature correct at night and Rita got over heated with the electric blanket. Their temperature should be about 35° a bit less than us. I have had to feed her every hour: first hour milk, and the next hour vitrate an electrolyte solution to replace the salts and fluid, as she is very dehydrated. It took two days but she is now hydrated and growing again. I am very tired! She now sleeps with us as I know she is the right temperature. She scratches me when she is hungry so that is good as well. Not good for my husband though he isn't happy with a kangaroo sleeping with us but I suppose over the years he has gotten used to it. Monday 7th August 2006 This is the first update from Mama Bev.......... Rita is doing very well she is about 5 months old and weighs 800grams. She is just starting to get hair on her face and the rest of her body in still pink skin. I have washed her and I cover her with emu oil every day as in the mother's pouch they are kept moist so living in a beanie as she is now her skin dries out. She is having a bottle every 2 to 3 hours during the day and 4 hourly at night. I have to toilet her every time I feed her so it is more work than a human baby. She is drinking about 100ml of special milk that you get from the vet each day, about 10 - 15ml per feed. • Bev with Rita It is very important to keep her body warm until she is fully haired which should be in about 4 weeks. I have been keeping her under my jumper in the day and in an electric blanket at night. They are very affectionate as they are with their mothers all the time so I like them to be close as much as possible so they feel loved. They are very placid and are not afraid of their new mothers. If she needs to go to the toilet or is hungry she makes little noises to me. Its very cute. There is a long road ahead as she is very very young. Will keep you upto date. Bye for now Bev Friday 4th August 2006 Introduction to Margarita, the orphaned kangaroo This is a bittersweet story.......... I was out on tour with two lovely Italian couples on their honeymoon and Jon our driver suggested we drive along Starrs Road where there would be a fairly good chance of spotting some kangaroos in the scrub alongside the road........ so, there we were, all merrily chatting away and getting to know each other in the car when Jon said he had spotted a kangaroo lying down behind some roadside vegetation... We pulled over to catch a glimpse of the kangaroo and Jon noticed that the kangaroo looked like it was having problems moving....... so he pulled up ahead of the spot to have a look and we both looked at each other with that awful feeling in our hearts as to what we suspected he would find....... It was indeed the very tragic reality of a kangaroo which had obviously been hit by a car and left to die in agony in a slow and awful manner. Jon had to put it out of its misery and as he did so, he checked to see if it was a female and sure enough found a little joey in her pouch. There was a little joey, about 5 months old in the female's pouch. The joey was still without her fur coat and so it would have died if we had left her there with her mum, there was no way she would survive the next couple of days. We wrapped her up in Jon's jumper and took her to Bev Turner at Emu Ridge, the eucalyptus farm just down the road. Bev has had a lot of experience raising orphaned joeys of all sorts (kangaroos, wallabies and possums) so we knew she would do a good job of looking after the joey. Giuliana and Domenico, Francesca and Riccardo were still devastated by the experience and very reluctant to leave the joey but saw that Bev knew what she was doing. They got to name the joey and chose the name Margarita which would be an easy enough name for anyone to say but would still have a strong connection to Italy. • From L - R : Domenica, Giuliana, Margarita in Jon's arms, Francesca and Riccardo. • Honorary "parents" Domenica and Giuliana (holding Margarita) with Bev (Margarita's new mum). Bev has promised to keep us updated with Margarita's progress and will send me pics to post up here on this page. Thankfully the rest of the day turned out to be a stunning day, beautiful weather and lots of wildlife sightings. We went on to Seal Bay and there were lots of gorgeous pups cavorting around and being playful and everyone had a good time. Then on to lunch, koala spotting, we even saw a joey with its mum that day, lots of wallabies with their little joeys emerging from mums' pouches and of course to top it off...... we had a grandstand view of a laidback koala pretty low down on the fork of a big branch which just about capped the day........ Stay tuned.......and check for updates here Originally published at Kangaroo Island Online, Thanks Bea!