Woman nurses orphaned kangaroo joey back to health in Australia

Attacked by crows after losing his mother, the joey, an eastern grey named Andy, now stays in a cloth pouch in the carer's home, where he will remain until he is strong enough to be released back into the plains.

Wearing pink surgical gloves, animal carer Christie Jarrett gently wraps the foot of an orphaned seven-month-old kangaroo with surgical tape at a facility set up at her rural home near the Australian city of Bathurst in New South Wales (NSW).

Pippa, a rescued orphaned seven-month-old wallaroo, rests in a homemade pouch. (REUTERS)

Attacked by crows after losing his mother, the joey, an eastern grey named Andy, now stays in a cloth pouch in Jarrett's home, where he will remain until he is strong enough to be released back into the plains.

"He had a bit of surgery and he's doing really well now," said Jarrett, a long-term volunteer with the country's largest wildlife rescue organisation, NSW Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service.

Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service (WIRES) carer Christie Jarrett holds Pippa, a seven-month-old rescued orphaned wallaroo.

It's been a horror few years for Australian wildlife in the country's east, after a prolonged drought and bushfires decimated habitats.

Many of the baby kangaroos that Jarrett looks after, however, are not orphaned because of natural disaster, but because their mothers have been struck by cars and trucks.

Jarrett, who works at a local school, said she and her partner had cared for more than 200 kangaroos, wallabies and wallaroos, a species midway in size between kangaroos and wallabies. All have been raised, nursed and fed before being released back into the wild.

Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service (WIRES) carer Matthew Jarrett holds Frankie, a rescued orphaned eastern grey kangaroo.

"It was such an eye-opener to learn how very human they were," said Jarrett. "How emotional, how interactive. They're not pets. They are wild animals."

Joey Andy will be in care for "probably about 12 months, 18 months until he's ready to be released," Jarrett said. "He's a pouch-bound joey so he stays in his pouch all the time."

When it's time for the recovered kangaroos to leave, the gate is left open so that they can come and go, until they feel safe to leave for good. Some continue visiting Jarrett's home long after release.