Meet Dusty, an Eastern Grey kangaroo who came to Eagles Nest after a Tablelands family called Harry Kunz asking for his help to please remove a large, friendly kangaroo from their kitchen. When Dusty was released back into the wild by his original rescuers, he just didn't know how to take care of himself or even find food, so he adopted a Tablelands family who left their kitchen door open.

Dusty was his usual friendly self when Harry arrived, and stopped eating long enough to welcome Harry with a hug before returning to the more important business of finishing his potato.

Even when he grew much larger at Eagles Nest, Dusty always welcomed Harry with a hug, even when lying in wait at the kitchen door to demand more food.

Harry and his partner Karin worked hard to rehabilitate Dusty so he could be returned to the wild, but this was an impossible dream.

Even housing Dusty next to the dingo enclosure didn't help to re-educate Dusty to the dangers of dogs. The dingoes gave up in frustration before Dusty gave up on making friends.

Although Dusty was hard-wired by his original family into loving humans and dogs, he was still roo enough to enjoy the company available at Eagles Nest. He especially enjoyed being a teenage roo with Christi, another Eastern Grey raised at Eagles Nest after Christi's mother was killed by a car.

Like all teenage boys, Dusty and Christi enjoyed pushing the boundaries. They got into a lot of mischief, and even the flour supply one day on one of their kitchen raids - Dusty's favourite food remained potatoes.

Dusty especially was a real charmer, always ready to welcome visitors to Eagles Nest with a big hug and sometimes his version of a kiss by nuzzling your cheek.

Dusty remained certain that dogs were his friends until the day he jumped a fence to join five new friends, who promptly attacked him. This well-known local pack of killers had already killed wallabies, possums and at least one other Eastern Grey. Although Harry was bitten himself, he managed to drag Dusty free from the pack. Dusty was very badly injured, but his worst injury seemed to be his shock at being attacked by his friends.

Karin and Harry worked very hard to save Dusty, but it was as though the kangaroo has just given up on life. "I had never seen a kangaroo cry" said a visibly upset Harry Kunz. "Dusty had wet trails from his eyes down his nose. He was in terrible pain. It was heartbreaking."

Both these beautiful Eastern Grey roos, Dusty and Christi, have now been killed by the same dog pack. Even though The World Conservation Union has put Australia's Eastern Grey Kangaroo on the Red List of Threatened Species, no action has been taken against the owner of the dogs. It appears that in rural Queensland Shires killing wildlife, even rare or endangered species, is legal even though our native wildlife just can't breed fast enough to replace the numbers killed each year by cars and pet dogs.

If you'd like a list of ways you can help protect our Australian wildlife, just follow the links on the bottom of this page.