BALLARAT Wildlife Park animal keeper Luke Simmonds knows just how new parents feel.
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For the past four months Luke has been waking through the night to feed the latest addition to his Melton-based family, an orphaned kangaroo joey named Pebbles. The pair are inseparable, with Pebbles making the hour-long drive to work each day with Luke.
“When I first started she was having bottles every four hours, but now she is down to every six,” Luke said.
“Now I have to help her adapt as she’s going through the different stages of growing up.”
Luke said Pebbles was “pretty hyperactive” and loved hopping around the house.
“Luckily she calms down in the car.”
Luke said 11-month-old Pebbles – who follows him around all day at work – would come back to live full-time at the park in about a year when she could cope on her own.
Luke said Pebbles was always pretty happy, but could often give fellow shoppers a bit of a fright when she poked her head out of the shopping bags when they did their weekly shopping.