Kangaroos rescued from bombed Ukrainian conservation park

Feldman Ecopark in Kharkiv said some animals had been killed by Russian bombing

A kangaroo looks at the camera in Hangzhou Zoo, eastern China, in 2015. Getty

A mob of kangaroos has been rescued from a zoo in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday.

The city, which had a prewar population of more than 1.5 million, has been under heavy Russian artillery and air bombardment since Ukraine was invaded on February 24.

The animals, from the city’s Feldman Ecopark, were driven out of the area in the back of a van.

The ministry said on Twitter that the kangaroos’ “enclosures were repeatedly shelled by Russian Armed Forces. Now kangaroos are safe.”

Oleksandra Matviichuk, a Ukrainian activist and lawyer, posted video footage of eight kangaroos being put into the back of a van.

A statement on the park’s website on Saturday said cash was urgently being raised to rescue as many animals as possible amid heavy shelling.

“We work daily to evacuate our animals from the territory of the Ecopark, but, alas, we cannot avoid tragedies,” the statement said.

“Four fallow deer and three Welsh goats became victims of another barbaric shelling. The list of victims of aggression among our pets is growing – it already includes large cats, primates, ungulates, marsupials, birds … Feldman Ecopark has been on the line of fire for a last month.”

The park describes itself as “a multilateral project that combines animal care and assistance, therapy for children with special needs, rehabilitation, research and educational facilities, as well as leisure for those who love nature”.

In pictures: Kangaroos around the world

A kangaroo confronts the camera at Hangzhou Zoo, eastern China. Getty

A kangaroo braves the rain in Sydney, Australia. Getty

Nupela, a female Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo, feeds while perched on a branch in an enclosure at The Singapore Zoo. EPA

A joey looks out from its the pouch of its mother, Chuck, at a zoo in the western Siberian city of Barnaul. Reuters

Kangaroo mother Naddel and her twin joeys enjoy the sun in their enclosure in Hanover, Germany. Reuters

Kangaroos cuddle in Basel, Switzerland. EPA

Red kangaroos lie in their enclosure in Munich, Germany. EPA

Two kangaroos in their enclosure at the zoo in Lodz, central Poland. EPA