To most students, Larry Rogers is just another marketing professor at Copeland Hall. But, when he is not supervising the business cluster, Rogers enjoys an unusual hobby -running a kangaroo sanctuary in Lancaster.
About eight years ago, Rogers and his wife Tammie created the International Kangaroo Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating and providing information about macropods -a marsupial family that includes the kangaroo and the wallaby.
The couple's interest in the animals began at a llama show, where they saw their first macropod -a wallaby. For the Rogerses, it was love at first sight.
After researching macropods for two years, they bought a wallaby, and more animals soon followed. The more time they spent with kangaroos and wallabies, the more they enjoyed them, Rogers said.
The more we got to know (macropods) the more we realized the information out there was inaccurate or just wasn't enough
Rogers said.
The Rogerses started the society to learn and teach others about macropods, Rogers said. It provides caretaking advice for zookeepers and owners and raises sick and unwanted kangaroos.
We wanted to gain more knowledge about the species -feeding tolerance for medication -anything we could find out Rogers said. The only way we could do that was to offer to take the animals in.
To gain the extensive knowledge needed to care for these animals, the Rogerses teamed with David Anderson, the head of farm animal medicine and surgery at Ohio State University.
OSU still provides medical facilities to treat injured kangaroos taken in by the society. This partnership between the two organizations is especially important to private owners because most veterinarians are not qualified to treat exotic animals, Anderson said.
It can be difficult for owners to find a vet willing to treat kangaroos
he said. There weren't a lot of places for owners to go and seek medical attention
because the zoo vets are bound a little in their jobs as to what they can do for domestic animals.
One harrowing incident involved a wild kangaroo named Stumpy that needed a prosthetic leg. Getting Stumpy's new leg fitted was a nightmare because wild kangaroos are harder to treat than those raised in captivity and can sometimes die of fright, Rogers said.
Though macropods are not native to the United States, there still is a demand for qualified experts, Rogers said.
The sanctuary comprises about an acre of land and houses 15 kangaroos, most of which are sick, injured or unwanted. It has room for more animals, and the Rogerses hope to further expand its boundaries in the future, he said.
As a non-profit organization, the society relies on donations, Rogers said. Caring for the kangaroos is not cheap; total expenses amount to several hundred dollars of feed per month, in addition to any medical expenditures.
Spring is the busiest season for the society because many kangaroos are born, and this year is no different, Tammie said.
We're on call all the time
she said.
Between teaching at OU, making the hour-long commute from his home in Lancaster and dealing with the society, Rogers is left with little free time. Among the society's responsibilities, caring for infant kangaroos, called joeys, is particularly time-consuming, Tammie said.
If we have a baby
we have no free time; they travel with us everywhere we go
she said.
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