Kangaroo Dundee: I gave it all up to become a ‘kangaroo mum’

Kangaroo Dundee: I gave it all up to become a ‘kangaroo mum’

From Lives Less Ordinary by BBC World Service

May 17, 2026 · 40 min

About this episode

Chris 'Brolga' Barns shares his journey of becoming a kangaroo 'mum' and the challenges he faced in creating a sanctuary for orphaned joeys.

Chris 'Brolga' Barns fell in love with joeys and became a kangaroo 'mum'. He rescues orphaned baby kangaroos, or joeys, carrying them around in a pillowcase to mimic their mum’s pouch. While working as a tour guide in the Australian outback, Brolga would always check the pouches of kangaroos killed by cars lying on the side of the road, where often the joeys would still be alive. The plan was to look after them until they could be released back into the wild, but sometimes they had been injured and couldn't outrun dingoes or bush fires. So Brolga gave up his job to create a kangaroo sanctuary for them in Alice Springs, in Australia's red centre. After leading some land and digging for 18 months to build a giant dingo-proof fence, he spent all his money. He ended up living in a tin shack on site, without any electricity or a toilet, sharing his bed with the orphaned joeys he was caring for. But the visitors he had hoped for did not come, and he had no income. Things were looking bleak. Then he starred in a BBC documentary series called Kangaroo Dundee. The title was a play on the hit comedy film Crocodile Dundee, about a man from the outback who wows everyone in the big city…

People in this episode

Guest: Chris 'Brolga' Barns

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BBC

Books & works: Kangaroo Dundee, Crocodile Dundee

Places: Alice Springs, Australia

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