Miraculous rescue: Fishermen save kangaroo stranded 3km out to sea

A dramatic rescue unfolded off the coast of Port Lincoln when a fishing crew spotted a kangaroo struggling in the water, kilometres from shore.

Jake Murray and his crew were on Boston Bay when a shout from skipper Ryan Smith caused them to investigate. "He's like, 'I reckon there's a roo in the water', and we're like, 'Yeah, sure. All right, Ryan, sure,'" Mr Murray said.

The crew was surprised to find a male kangaroo about 3 kilometres offshore, exhausted and in need of help. They were able to rescue the animal after opening the sea door on their boat. "The sea door basically comes down to essentially the water level," Mr Murray explained. "So we we're able to comfortably get under his arms, bring him on board and just hold him there."

A first for everyone on board

Mr Murray, a diver and farmer, deals with wild animals often, but never quite like this. He was able to hug the animal to keep it calm and under control. "Just hanging on to him, just controlling his legs, because they're quite mighty and powerful," Mr Murray said. "He's obviously been swimming around for a while … it was pretty knackered, pretty waterlogged."

"Honestly, I was just kind of cradling him there for a while and it was almost like he was having a little nap," he added.

Among the crew was Miguel Villarroel, a diver from the Galapagos Islands. Mr Murray said Villarroel had never seen a kangaroo before. "He's like, 'Oh, does this happen a fair bit?'" Mr Murray recalled. "I'm like, 'Mate, I've never seen this in my life.'"

"I've seen them around the area, like in shallows, at surf beaches — but in the middle of the bay, yeah, never in my wildest dreams would I think I'd see that," Mr Murray said.

How did the kangaroo end up at sea?

Mr Murray was stumped as to how the animal came to be so far out to sea. "Maybe because it was so calm and flat … maybe [it was] caught in the tide, you just don't know," he said. "Probably a teenager trying to impress his mates, going for a swim."

"He must have had a big night and one of the boys put a dare on and he's gone for a splash and put himself into mischief," Mr Murray speculated.

After being rescued, the kangaroo was taken back ashore, where it sat on the beach before hopping away.