An Aussie family woken by a sinister banging on the roof of their home discovered the surprising cause – and it’s not a burglar.
The Melbourne family was woken up by a ‘very loud banging’ outside their home at about 3am on Wednesday.
One ‘brave’ member of the family decided to investigate the source of the sound and found a kangaroo standing on the roof of the house.
The family snapped a picture of the Aussie marsupial standing on the roof with its glowing eyes in the dark and shared it with 3AW radio presenter Jacqueline Felgate who the posted it on Instagram.
A Melbourne family discovered a Kangaroo on the roof of their house after they were woken up by ‘very loud banging’ at 3am (pictured)
‘Not sure how this little guy got up there but is safe to say we were glad it was a roo and not a burglar,’ the family explained.
‘He has since been safely corralled back onto the ground to the nearby walking track near the river – a happy story in the end.’
Social media users were amused by the picture, with many joking about the kangaroo’s early morning adventure.
‘Ah, the old Kangaroof,’ one person wrote.
‘First it was Elf on the Shelf, now it’s Roo on the Roof,’ a second person commented.
A third person added the roo was merely ‘sleep hopping’.
While many others joked that the rogue kangaroo was just another typical ‘straya’ moment.
The kangaroo was corralled off the roof and relocated to a nearby walking track near a river (stock picture of mother kangaroo and her joey)
Kangaroos are native to Australia and are found in a variety of habitats such as forests, bushland and plains.
Depending on the species, kangaroos occupy different ecosystems, with Red Kangaroos found over most of arid Australia preferring flat open plains, Western Greys found from Cape York to Tasmania and Eastern Greys from Western Australia to Victoria.
There are occasions where people come into conflict with kangaroos, usually due to a combination of available habitat and increasing urbanisation.
Kangaroos are mostly docile creatures, and interactions with humans are infrequent.
They can be unpredictable when they feel they are threatened, or that their territory is being encroached on – whether by a human or another animal.
To deter a kangaroo from coming onto your property it is suggested to not leave food out for them to eat, mow your lawn regularly, install a fence approximately 1.5 metres high and use motion activated security lights.