A joey was rescued from inside a post box on the Gold Coast by Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) and delivered into the care of a wildlife sanctuary on Friday.
"One crew from Pimpama Fire and Rescue Station was called to Stapylton Jacobs Well Road on the Gold Coast and confirmed there was a joey in a post box," a QFES spokesperson told The Epoch Times.
"The crew arrived just before 7am and organised for an Australia Post representative to attend with keys to unlock the box," the QFES spokesperson said. "Firefighters removed the joey and handed the joey over to wildlife rescue and was transported to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary."
Currumbin Wildlife Hospital senior veterinarian Dr. Michael Pyne said the animal most likely would have perished by the day's end if it hadn't been removed, given temperatures topped 30 degrees (86 degrees Fahrenheit) at parts of the Gold Coast.
"I've been doing this for 20 years and I've seen some weird stuff but never anything like this," Pyne said. "We're just very lucky she wasn't in there for long before it was removed. Heat would have been the main threat."
The can weigh around 30 kilograms when fully-grown. It would eventually be given a "soft release," which involves it being eased back into its natural habitat.
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is a heritage-listed zoological garden which began as a bird sanctuary in 1947 and is now a 27-hectare popular animal attraction for the Gold Coast.
