# Chris Barns

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**Chris Barns**, nicknamed "**Brolga**", is an Australian [kangaroo](/source/Kangaroo) carer. He is the founder of the Kangaroo Sanctuary in [Alice Springs](/source/Alice_Springs). Barns and the Kangaroo Sanctuary came to greater international attention when [Roger](/source/Roger_(kangaroo)), one of the earlier kangaroos which he adopted, went viral for his muscular physique.[1] Barns was featured in the 2013 BBC documentary series *Kangaroo Dundee* and served as the inspiration for the 2025 film *[Kangaroo](/source/Kangaroo_(2025_film))*.

## Early life

Barns grew up in [Perth](/source/Perth) in [Western Australia](/source/Western_Australia), in the 1970s and was a shy child who did not excel in school. He partially attributes this to being 6 feet (182cms) tall by his early teens. Barns left home at the age of 17 to work as a zoo keeper in [Broome](/source/Broome,_Western_Australia), going to work at several wildlife parks before starting work as a tour guide.[2]

## Work with kangaroos

In the early 2000s, while working as a tour guide running tours between Alice Springs and [Uluru](/source/Uluru), Barns came across a [joey](/source/Joey_(marsupial)), still in its dead mother's pouch, near [Curtin Springs](/source/Curtin_Springs). The kangaroo mother, who had been hit by a car, had been dead for some time. With the help of a nurse on the tour, Barns managed to free the 4-month-old joey. The tour group named it Anna (later renamed Palau).[3] This experience made Barns angry about how many vehicles had already driven past the dead mother and not thought to check that she may have a joey. He decided that it would be his mission to tell people about how to check for this.[3]

Following this, in 2005, Barns started the first incarnation of the Kangaroo Sanctuary, the Baby Kangaroo Rescue Centre, and many joeys started being sent to him, mostly through a combination of road accidents and hunting. In 2007 alone, 75 joeys were brought into the sanctuary, including Roger on 24 May 2007; it was initially thought he would not survive long.[3]

In 2009, after exceeding capacity at the existing site, Barns moved to what is now known as the Kangaroo Sanctuary, funded primarily by donation and entry fees.[4]

In 2013, Barns and the sanctuary were featured in the BBC documentary series *Kangaroo Dundee*, a six-part series[5] which he followed up with the book *Kangaroo Dundee* with James Knight.[6]

In 2014, Barns married Tahnee Passmore[7] and they share their home with a family of joeys. Barns has said that:[2]

"Home is the bush - I have my home where my parents are ... and then the home in my spirit is the bush. And the bush can be anywhere - it's that sense of freedom ... that's where I'm happiest."

— Chris Barns, *How kangaroo rescuer Chris 'Brolga' Barns found his purpose on The Road to Alice*

## References

1. Sanctuary, Supplied: The Kangaroo (2018-12-10). ["Roger kangaroo crushed bucket"](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-10/roger-kangaroo-crushed-bucket-1/10599410). *ABC News*. Retrieved 2019-11-02.

1. One, One Plus (2015-09-11). ["The kangaroo rescuer: Chris 'Brolga' Barns"](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-11/kangaroo-rescuer-chris-brolga-barns/6759582). *ABC News*. Retrieved 2020-03-23.

1. Barns, Chris (2013). *Kangaroo Dundee*. London. ISBN 9781444753325. [OCLC 855704775](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/855704775)

1. ["The Kangaroo Sanctuary - Alice Springs, Central Australia"](https://kangaroosanctuary.com/). *The Kangaroo Sanctuary*. Retrieved 2019-11-02.

1. ["Kangaroo Dundee"](https://iview.abc.net.au/show/kangaroo-dundee). *ABC iview*. Retrieved 2019-11-02.

1. [[https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/186493258](https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/186493258) Trove information.

1. ["Tahnee Passmore, Author at The Kangaroo Sanctuary"](https://kangaroosanctuary.com/author/tahnee-editor/). *The Kangaroo Sanctuary*. Retrieved 2020-03-23.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Chris Barns](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Barns) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Barns?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.