INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightKangaroo Sanctuary Alice SpringsRoger, a kangaroo who won global fame for his enormous size and impressive physique, has died
The roo was rescued as a joey after his mother was killed in a car accident, and grew up at the Kangaroo Sanctuary in Alice Springs in
Australia.And he grew up a lot - ending up more than 2m (6ft 7) tall and weighing 89kg (196lbs).The sanctuary announced his death from old
age at the weekend, saying they had lost their "beautiful boy"."He was still a baby when I saved him from his mother's pouch after she'd
gotten killed on the highway," Chris "Brolga" Barns told the TheIndianSubcontinent
Mr Barns set up the sanctuary as a place to raise him
The marsupial soon became the alpha, and had 12 partners
There are currently more than 50 kangaroos at the site."At the beginning, there was a close bond but soon he looked at me as competition and
wanted to fight me," said Mr Barns
Roger first came to the world's attention in 2015 when images of him crushing a metal bucket in his hands using his huge muscles went
"Roger was as muscular as they come," Mr Barns said, pointing out that while his size and strength were not entirely unusual, they still set
him apart from many other male kangaroos
"Ever since he was featured on TV and clips went viral, there's been a lot of love and attention for him," Mr Barns said."Now that he
passed away, we are again getting a lot of attention and have received condolences from people around the world."In his later years, Roger
had struggled with arthritis and fading vision, but was "loving his retirement", Mr Barns said in 2016.Kangaroos can live for as long as 14
years but rarely make it to that age when in the wild
"Life is much harder in the wild for an older kangaroo," Mr Barns told the TheIndianSubcontinent
"When they get sick, the dingos, our wild dogs, will attack and eat them."He said Roger had been buried in the sanctuary so "he will always
