Royal Flying Doctor pilot Mick Young reveals real story behind this viral photo of an affectionate kangaroo holding his hand at Port Augusta
An Australian pilot who was captured in a heartwarming video while holding hands with a kangaroo has revealed the marsupial just wanted some company.
Mick Young, a pilot with the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) for nine years, befriended the young female kangaroo last month in Port Augusta, about 310km northwest of Adelaide.
The marsupial walked up to Mr Young and his colleague Dave Rose who were in town to attend a party.
‘We weren’t sure what was going on, [we thought] Maybe he needs something to drink, so we got some water and gave him something to drink,” he said ABC News Breakfast.
Images of Australian pilot Mick Young holding the hand of a young female kangaroo (pictured) in Port Augusta, South Australia, melted the hearts of Aussies last month
The two men soon realized that she was not thirsty, but was looking for company.
A heartwarming video taken by Mr Rose, an engineer at RFDS, showed the moment the kangaroo reached out and held Mr Young’s hand.
Mr. Young held the creature’s paw as the kangaroo stood still and enjoyed the warm embrace.
A moment later she jumped away as Mr. Young walked slowly behind him.
“It really just wanted human interaction,” Mr. Young said.
“We started to wonder if this was a wild kangaroo or an orphan raised by humans – a creature that escaped.”
Mr Young said the animal had approached Mr Rose just before the footage was taken.
“He calmly walked over to Dave and put his head on his right shoulder and his paw on his left shoulder,” he said.
A photo of the touching exchange between the pair has since gone viral on social media, with hundreds of people commenting on the unlikely encounter.
The kangaroo jumped away a short time later (pictured) as Mr Young slowly walked behind him
“Beautiful image,” someone wrote on Facebook.
“Thank you for sharing this beautiful moment,” someone else said.
Mr Young said he has seen the kangaroo jump across the road a few times.
She even once appeared at Port Augusta airport while an employee was opening the terminal.
“It was a beautiful moment,” Mr. Young said.