Kangaroo keeps boy aged seven warm when he goes missing in a conservation park
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Your support makes all the difference.A father has claimed a kangaroo kept his seven-year-old son warm after he went missing from a family picnic in Australia.
Etienne Kruger told News 7 that his son Simon had wandered away whilst on an outing with his family at the Deep Creek Conservation Park in Adelaide, South Australia.
A search team of more than 40 people were deployed to search for his son in a large scale rescue operation.
Fears grew for the safety of the boy, who was wearing only a fleece top and tracksuit bottoms, as the temperature began to drop severely overnight.
The rescue operation continued during the night, before a rescue helicopter spotted him about 500 meters from where he had gone missing nearly 24 hours earlier.
He was winched to safety shortly after noon Sunday, a police spokesman told CNN, having sustained minor injuries from his night in the wilderness.
“Dad, I'm okay - I slept under a tree and there were kangaroos,” the boy said after he was reunited with his family, according to the Australian newspaper.
Mr Kruger said that his son had been picking flowers for his mother when a kangaroo approached him.
“A kangaroo came closer to him and ate the flowers from him, and the kangaroo fell asleep next to him,” Mr Kruger said. “I think God sent a kangaroo to keep him warm.”
The boy's mother, Linda Kruger, added: “I think it was a miracle, when I smell his jacket, it's kangaroo — bush and kangaroo.”
Mr Kruger said his son is recovering well since the incident and acting “as if nothing had happened.”
“He's had a nice shower last night and a good sleep,” he said. “He's certainly got something to tell at show and tell now.”
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