KANGAROOS are roaming freely within metres of homes in a built-up residential area of Bathurst near Hector Park.
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They are clearly frightened and on edge, having been displaced from their bush habitat in the Mount Panorama precinct on the outskirts of the city by the onset of suburban sprawl.
Their presence is also a real concern for motorists on the Mitchell Highway near the Bathurst Correctional Centre.
One kangaroo yesterday morning was seen heading from the top end of Hector Park, near the basketball stadium, straight towards the busy highway. Cars were forced to slow down to avoid a collision as it hopped along near the roadway towards town.
Longtime Vittoria Street resident Jim Schaerf is retired these days and is a regular walker and visitor to Hector Park.
He was out and about yesterday morning and spent more than 20 minutes watching another kangaroo’s escapades in the park.
The area is effectively a green belt running through suburbia in West Bathurst, between Rocket Street and the highway.
“That fella’s a really big boy and you can tell he’s not happy,” Mr Schaerf told the Western Advocate.
“He could do a lot of damage to someone if he took a disliking to you. You can tell he’s lost, scared and doesn’t know where to go.
“And worse still, he’s right in the middle of suburbia with backyards all around him and a busy highway that’s too close for comfort.
“It’s an accident waiting to happen because kangaroos and cars don’t mix. There’s no quiet time for traffic along there these days.”
Mr Schaerf does volunteer work on the Blayney Road common and pinpoints that area, in the Mount Panorama and Boundary Road precinct, as where the kangaroos have come from because they’ve lost their natural environment.
“I’ve also seen them on Browning Street from time to time. Ironically, the kangaroos are in the news at the moment with that white wallaroo at the Mount making front page news last week,” he said.
The kangaroo problem in the Mount Panorama precinct was also highlighted yesterday when a mob came bounding across College Road near the entrance to the new harness racing complex, just up from the rear of the Rydges hotel.
About 15 kangaroos came from an orchard on the circuit side of the road and crossed to the land on the other side at full speed.
Bathurst Regional Council has been working on an ongoing program to fence of the actual track at Mount Panorama to stop kangaroos colliding with the race cars during events.