Because the lives of these 2 young girls has been so closely interlocked
since they arrived at Roo Gully
we have decided to tell their Tale as one.

But you can go to each Joey's Tale by clicking on the link on their name
and at the end of the Tale catch up on our latest Big Kids Update.

The first Western Grey kangaroo joey to need our help in 2004
was a frightened little girl whose mother was killed in a road accident.

Because on examination we discovered a serious fracture in her left foot.

And an hour later her foot was in a plaster cast.

And she received a well deserved cuddle.

All she needed then was a name.

She was a special joey, because she arrived in a year
which saw many ups and downs in the Roo Gully dream.

So we searched for a name to signify this, a name with special meaning,
and we came across an Australian Aboriginal name that means
'from a beautiful place'.

In our minds there is nowhere on earth
more beautiful than Roo Gully,
so we named her Kiah.

Although she was a nervous little joey,
Kiah soon began to settle in to her new life.

She had to keep the plaster cast on her foot for 2 weeks.
Then came the day it was removed.

And boy, was she excited to see her toes once again!

Then it was time to try walking and hopping on the lawn.

Kiah tried.

And so she was taken back into the house...

...where Jules applied first a soft bandage,

This gave her foot extra support,
and as we all found out it did not handicap her.

Kiah loved to hop around the lawn,
and gained amazing height on her leaps.

Kiah was sharing her home with our 3 little wallabies,
Tyke, Tina and Tinker.
And caring for 4 youngsters kept Kris and Ruth, 2 volunteers, very busy.

10 days later, Kiah was doing so well
we thought it was time to take off the strapping.
But that was no easy task.

Especially when little wallabies decided to help.

And then Kiah thought she should speed things up by helping out too!

Finally the strapping was off.

...a scratch...

...Kiah decided to give her foot a thorough work out.

It looked good, and obviously felt good.

Although Kiah loved playing outside with the wallabies.

And she loved being with people.

We knew she really needed a friend of her own species.

She did not have too long to wait!

Another young Western Grey joey needed a home.
We named her Leila.

Luckily Leila arrived with no injuries.

Of course young Tyke was very interested in our newcomer.
And made Leila feel at home by joining her inside her pouch.

It was spring, the grass was still green,
and Kris and Ruth loved walking.

Especially when Leila and Kiah could go with them
safely tucked up in their special carrying pouches.

Kiah really loved these walks.

As spring changed into summer, the weather got hotter,
the grass turned brown and it was time for the young joeys
to learn the geography of Roo Gully.

It was a wonderful time for Kiah and Leila.
They enjoyed spending their time outside.

Most joeys that are raised together form a strong bond,
and this makes life easier for them when they have to join the mob.

Our young joeys are also lucky that we have Bron.

She has assumed the role of our Kindergarten teacher,
and takes all the young kids under her wing.

Joining the mob is not as easy as some think.
The joeys have to learn the rule of the mob,
and they also have to learn which roos they have to respect.

And they were soon accepted members
of the Roo Gully mob.

Kiah and Leila were progressing through all the stages of joeyhood,
and were then ready to spend their nights outside.

But we did not abandon them.
Western Grey joeys are not fully weaned by their mothers
until they are at least 18 months old.

As the rains arrived and the grass began to grow
we then dropped their evening feed.
But every morning Kiah and Leila are waiting for their morning bottle,
and they will receive this until spring.

We are all really pleased with Kiah and Leila.
They are both happy young roos living with the mob.

Then it was time for Kiah and Leila to help another little joey
who was trying to join the mob - JT.

He was much younger than the girls,
and had a few problems making friends within the mob.
But JT is a persistant young boy.

And Kiah and Leila
soon discovered they had a new mate.