Confronting photo of dead kangaroo upright highlights reality of Australia’s drought

A horrifying image of a kangaroo’s remains standing upright is a visible sign of how bad Australia’s drought has become.

The image is a blunt reminder of the effect of the state-wide drought, as New South Wales continues through one of its driest winters on record.

The confronting image of the dead kangaroo was found in the Riverina region in south-western New South Wales.

Horrifying image of a kangaroo’s remains standing upright is a visible sign of how bad Australia’s drought has become

Grazier Len McLean stumbled upon a set of kangaroo bones that were still in tact and was able to stand the skeleton up on its tail and two feet to create this startling photograph 

Grazier Len McLean stumbled upon a set of kangaroo bones that were still in tact and was able to stand the skeleton up on its tail and two feet to create this startling photograph 

Grazier Len McLean, 69, from Morundah, NSW, often stumbles across kangaroo remains while he’s on the job working cattle. 

With the state of Australia’s  drought at the moment, wildlife are competing with livestock to live.

Mr McLean was shocked to find the complete remains of the kangaroo in a paddock.

He told Daily Mail Australia: ‘It was still intact – that’s the way I found it and I just put it back together again and stood it up on it’s tail and two feet.

‘It’s not normal – usually other animals just pull their skeletons to pieces when they die.’

He said that usually the remains are destroyed as feral animals such as foxes tear apart the remains and scatter the bones.   

A baby lamb was caught crying for its mother who has died in the state-wide drought (pictured)

A baby lamb was caught crying for its mother who has died in the state-wide drought (pictured)

The country has had its driest July since 2002 and the driest Autumn since 1902

The country has had its driest July since 2002 and the driest Autumn since 1902

Australia has been suffering one of the most intense droughts of the past century, and according to meteorologists, it isn’t going to ease up anytime soon.

The Bureau of Meteorology have released maps indicating the severity of the drought, as there was little to no rainfall across most of Australia from 1 April to 6 August this year.

Mr McLean said he thinks the arid conditions meant kangaroo remains were being devoured even faster than before. 

Australia has been suffering one of the most intense droughts of the past century

Australia has been suffering one of the most intense droughts of the past century

He said: ‘There’s no green grass here so what’s left is of no value at all to animals really.’

The country has had its driest July since 2002, and the driest Autumn since 1902.

Mr McLean said his farm had seen only 100mm of rain this year, and every day it ‘gets worse and worse’ for him. 

Almost the entire of New South Wales has received less than 20 per cent of its usual rainfall since January.

The latest map from the BoM shows dramatically low levels of rainfall from April to August 2018

The latest map from the BoM shows dramatically low levels of rainfall from April to August 2018

Farmers across the country are suffering from the intense droughts, and many are losing their livestock.

Some farmers are spending tens of thousands of dollars per truckload of hay to feed their animals.

Resources for livestock is quickly diminishing and farmers have been forced to resort to drastic measures. 



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