SHEARWATER Estate residents Ian and Deborah Hicks recently woke to find a very rare set of twin kangaroos being cared for by their mother on their Tea Gardens acreage.

It is a general fact that kangaroos don’t have twin joeys but they can have joeys nine to twelve months apart.

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“Twins are a rarity in the kangaroo world and I have only heard of three other sets in my 25 years as a wildlife carer,” wildlife carer John Turnbull told News Of The Area.

“It is a very rare event, and sadly in the wild it is very unlikely that the twins would be able to survive,” Mr Turnbull said.

When joeys reach around three kilos, they are still living in mum’s pouch, so six kilos becomes too much for the mother to handle, often only having enough milk for one.

The sight of both joeys is a special sight as in the majority of cases the mother will toss one away, or just keep the stronger one whilst they are still in the pouch.

Both Ian and Deborah noticed that both joeys were very weak.

“They looked like they were fresh out of the pouch and were very weak and shaky on their feet,” Mr Hicks said.

Ian and Deborah chose to retire in the Shearwater Estate nine years ago after moving from Maitland due to the quietness and tranquility of the area.

The exclusive Shearwater Estate is made up of small acreages and was developed in order to remain a wildlife corridor with a beautiful daily show put on by the local kangaroos, kingfishers, magpies and other wildlife.

“In our nine years of living here, it’s the first twins we have seen so we knew what we were seeing was special,” Mr Hicks said.

The twins and their mother haven’t been seen for the past week but both Ian and Deborah are keeping their hope alive.

Have you ever seen twin kangaroos?