A legend lost: Roger the ripped kangaroo dies aged 12

Australia’s favourite muscly kangaroo whose incredible strength and kickboxing abilities reached international headlines, sadly passed away at the weekend.

The 12-year-old roo, often referred to as the Arnold Schwarzenegger of the animal world, died from old age after living a long and fruitful life at The Kangaroo Sanctuary in Alice Springs. 

Roger was farewelled by his loving owners in a touching post shared on Facebook detailing the roo’s impact on not only Australians but those around the world. 

The incredibly built roo shot to fame in 2015, after a photo of him crushing a metal bucket with his bare paws went viral. This was followed by a series of impressive kickboxing videos that left Aussies and foreigners alike gobsmacked. 

On Saturday sanctuary manager Chris ‘Brolga’ Barnes broke the news of Roger’s passing to his over 449,000 followers. 

“It’s a very sad day here today, for we have lost our beautiful boy Roger,” Brolga says as he sits on the red dirt with a few of his other kangaroos. “Roger passed away, he was 12 years old. 10 years ago I built this sanctuary to house Roger and a couple of his wives, Ella and Abigail. I built it so they would have a place to live.”

The loving owner goes on to tell Roger’s many fans how he was the alpha male of the group and will be forever loved and missed.

“Roger was our alpha male for many years and grew up to be a kangaroo that people from all over the world have grown to love as much as we love him too,” he explained. 

“We want to reflect on his life and many years to come. He’ll always be here. We’ve laid him to rest out here so he can be with his family.”

The tear-jerking video received a flurry of comments from Roger’s adoring fans with many sharing their love of the ripped roo. 

“My favourite kangaroo in whole wide universe has passed. Rest in peace Roger, you beautiful spunk,” one person wrote. 

“RIP Roger the roo. A stunning specimen of male macropod. Condolences to Brolga and all The Kangaroo Sanctuary in Alice Springs. He died of old age, a happy, content and much loved roo. He will be missed,” a second said. 

RIP Roger the world famous kangaroo from #AliceSprings. I was lucky to meet him at the height of his fame, and stroke him in his old age. Beautiful creature ♥ pic.twitter.com/CXC3mSmwHm

— Andrea J (@AndreaJ_Oz) December 8, 2018

While another added: “RIP Roger the world famous kangaroo from #AliceSprings. I was lucky to meet him at the height of his fame, and stroke him in his old age. Beautiful creature”. 

Are you a fan of Roger? Do you remember when he first became famous?