Aussie Teen Lifeguard Rescues Kangaroo

Picture it: you’re a new lifeguard, and on the first day of the job you see someone in peril … only you realise it’s not a person, but a kangaroo.

That’s what happened to Lillian Bee Young, who was on duty on New Year’s Eve at Iluka Beach in Australia’s New South Wales province. The beach is situated inside the Bundjalung National Park, where kangaroos are known to live.

When Young and her co-worker, Carissa, saw a kangaroo jumping off the rocks and into the rough waters, it was time to spring into action: Young grabbed her rescue board and headed out into the choppy surf.

“It was quite a windy day,” she said. “I was trying to figure out how, if I needed to, get [the kangaroo] on the board … but also it’s a wild animal … even though you’re helping I wouldn’t want it to hurt me or make it more stressed out.”

Fortunately, Young managed to keep the kangaroo’s head above the water, and she “paddled behind it and sort of guided it into the beach.”

After Carissa created a clear space among the excited crowd of onlookers, the ‘roo was able to get its bearings and hop back into the bush.

“It was quite special,” remarked Young, “[The kangaroo] was just sitting there up in the bushes. Almost, I thought, as a thank you. It was really serene.”

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