Australian police officer takes in orphaned baby kangaroo 'Cuejo'

CUE, Australia, March 14 (UPI) -- An orphaned baby kangaroo turned over to Australian police was given a new home with a constable and named with help from the public.

The Cue Police Station in Western Australia said the orphaned joey was turned over to police March 9 after its mother was struck and killed by a large truck.

The baby kangaroo was soon adopted by Police Constable Mason, a former paramedic with animal husbandry experience.

The joey was dubbed "Cuejo" after the Cue station asked Twitter followers to help choose a name for the baby animal.

Mason said a local registered carer is helping him with Cuejo and the 3 to-4-month-old kangaroo will be introduced to other roos with the aim of releasing him into the wild once he reaches 12-14 months of age.

"I have read and heard stories of people who have raised a joey and released them back to the wild, sometime later they have return to visit with their new extended family," Mason said in a Facebook post.

"Cuejo and I have established such a strong bond in only a short time, which just makes the day he is released that much more special. I will have raised him as my second child, but unlike a child once he has been released, I am not sure I will see him. Lots of memories to be made and love to be shared, in the end he is a wild animal given a second chance at the hand of a caring human."