The Value of a Hug

This is Doodlebug, a young eastern grey kangaroo taken in by Gillian Abbott, who cares for orphaned wildlife at her home in New South Wales. She’s raised joeys and wallabies for seven years, and has successfully released 35 of them into the wild. Abbott has several teddy bears and other toys hanging from trees to provide enrichment for the animals. She took a picture of Doodlebug hugging a teddy bear and sent it to her son, who Tweeted it. The image became a viral sensation.  

"He was found abandoned and he actually walked up to a member of the public, put his arms up and asked to be picked up," she said.

The joey has been with the wildlife carer ever since and is now classified as "soft release".

"As you can see the gates are open, he can go through the bush, stay out as long as he likes but he can come home and have a feed if he's hungry," Ms Abbott said.

Abbott says she only sent the picture to make her grandchildren happy, but is glad it is also making strangers on the internet happy. -via reddit

(Image credit: Gillian Abbott)


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"Barkley Marathons?" What kind of wimpy name is that? If you want an exciting prison-themed athletic event, you can't beat the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon
http://www.escapefromalcatraztriathlon.com/

Swim the frigid shark-infested waters of San Francisco Bay, with deadly currents that can sweep you halfway to Japan!

If you make landfall, you then have to assault a random bicycle courier and steal his bike for the second event: a bicycle race through the deadly gauntlet of The Financial District!

Finally, running at top speed up the sisyphean hills of San Francisco!

Only the best and toughest will survive! Only the survivors can win!
(OK, I think I exaggerate a bit on some of the details)
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An interesting article by Matthew Everett over at Metro Pulse about the Barkley "fun run" Marathon:

The elevation gain over five loops is roughly equivalent to two times the height of Mount Everest. GPS isn’t allowed, and much of the unmarked course goes straight up the sides of the park’s many 3,000-foot peaks, through downed trees and patches of malicious sawbriers that rip runners’ arms and legs to shreds. The Barkley community has given unofficial names like Testicle Spectacle, Rat Jaw, Son of a Bitch Ditch, Meth Lab Hill, Big Hell, and the Bad Thing to the park’s geographic features.

“This is not a race, this is a colonoscopy gone wrong,” one runner said after finishing a single loop in 2010.
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