Legendary Kangaroo Who Just Passed Away Is Getting So Much Internet Love

The world is currently mourning the passing of Roger the kangaroo, a resident of The Kangaroo Sanctuary and a beloved public figure for many years. He passed away over the weekend at the age of 12, which is a good, long life for a kangaroo. 

Pictures of Roger and his incredible physique — he was 6 feet, 7 inches tall and extremely muscular — have been impressing and delighting the internet for years, and this strong, handsome kangaroo is going to be missed by so many people. 

Chris “Brolga” Barns, the founder of The Kangaroo Sanctuary, announced the news of Roger’s passing in a sweet tribute, and ever since then, everyone who loved Roger has been posting their own tributes to him on social media. 

The tributes ranged from sweet …

… to nostalgic … 

… and the overwhelming consensus is that everyone is going to miss Roger oh so much. 

“Farewell our darling Roger,” Barns wrote in a post on Instagram. “Sadly, Roger has passed away of old age. He lived a lovely long life and was loved by millions around the world. We will always love you and miss you Roger.” 

In 2006, Barns found a mother kangaroo on the side of a highway in Australia. She had passed away, but inside her pouch was a tiny joey in desperate need of someone to help him. Barns named him Roger and took him back to the rescue he founded in 2005 called the Baby Kangaroo Rescue Center. As Roger grew, he became the most in-shape, muscular kangaroo anyone had ever seen, and the entire world quickly fell in love with him. 

When Barns first rescued Roger, he had no idea just how big Roger was going to get, both in size and notoriety. At his prime, Roger stood nearly 7 feet tall and weighed about 200 pounds. His muscles were insane and became the subject of many memes across the internet. 

He was definitely the most in-shape creature anyone had ever seen, and his adopted dad, Barns, could not have loved him more. 

In 2011, Barns founded The Kangaroo Sanctuary in Alice Springs, Australia, a 188-acre wildlife sanctuary that was designed to house Roger and other kangaroos. Since Roger was raised around humans since he was just a tiny joey, it would have been very difficult to release him back into the wild, and so Barns decided to create a safe space for him and future generations of rescue kangaroos to live in peace. 

Even though Barns knew Roger for his entire life, Roger was still an alpha male, and so when he was in his prime, Barns could never get very close to him without Roger displaying signs of dominance, not wanting any other males to come near his female kangaroos. As the years passed, though, and Roger settled into old age, he became a little more mellow. 

After Roger passed, Barns posted the last picture he ever took of Roger, which showed him lounging around waiting for a meal, looking very much at peace.

RIP, Roger. We’ll all miss you lots.