White Kangaroo Dies After Being Turned Away By Vets

Animal lovers around the world are heartbroken over the death of a rare white kangaroo named "Angel."

Angel died on Friday in Victoria and since then messages and condolences have been coming in from around the globe. Caretakers of Angel expressed their gratitude for the hundreds of messages online lending support to them. They have been devastated by the loss. The rare animal was loved by so many. One South African expressed how heartbroken she was. "You touched me deeply," Someone from the United States also wrote.

The Kangaroo was taken care of in Little Urchins Sanctuary, and since her passing, the owner Kat Agar- Teehan has been unable to speak on her death. She rather wrote a message on a Facebook post expressing profound gratitude to everyone for their messages and support. "Thank you all. I'm so sorry I can't find my voice right now," she wrote. "My chest is heavy and I feel crushed". 

Angel has been sick for some time, she gained public attention when her battle to live was featured on television. Since then she had gained sympathy from strangers around the globe. And they have sent encouraging words ever since. Someone in Nevada mentioned that Angel was close to her heart and she had been following the news of her struggles. 

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Angel Was White Due To Leucism

Angel's white color was due to leucism. Leucism is a genetic condition, characterized by partial loss of pigmentation in animals. This condition can make the skin, feathers or hair of animals appear white or patchily colored. The pigment in the eyes however is not affected by leucism. 

Kangaroos with this condition are rare, and Angel was one of the few. Another similar looking kangaroo was a kangaroo named "Cosmos" in a zoo in New York. Angel was taken in as an orphan and was the "poster child" for the sanctuary at Victoria's Reedy Creek . The Sanctuary specializes in taking care of Kangaroos in need of help. 

She lived for two years and since being taken in, she had become popular amongst animal lovers. She had a lot of fans and was featured in Australian televisions and articles. 

She Suffered From Kidney Failure and Peritonitis

Sarah Hart, who volunteered at Urchins Sanctuary mentioned to Yahoo News Australia that they had troubles getting a vet clinic to attend to her since the regular ones were closed. She had signs of stomach ache at night. Most vets didn't attend to wildlife, some were even rude in turning down Angels caregivers when they called and asked for medical attention. One said it was against their policy to admit kangaroos. 

They finally made an appointment in a vet about one hour away from their location. But when they arrived, they faced another disappointment. They were turned down because the clinic had a more urgent case. After numerous attempt to getting a proper diagnosis failed, Angel eventually kicked the bucket. It was later found that she had suffered from Kidney failure and peritonitis.

According to Ms Hart, Kangaroos are misunderstood in Australia. They gain public attention abroad but people at home view them as pets. They are commercially hunted mostly for their skins. She maintained that the government negligence towards this shows that they don't care for Kangaroos as they do for other pets. She hopes that Angel's death would bring awareness to the plight of Kangaroos in the country. 

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