‘I hope this wasn’t deliberate’: Gate to Kelowna’s kangaroo farm damaged

The owner of Kangaroo Creek Farm in Kelowna is hoping whoever damaged the entrance gate comes forward.

Caroline Wightman said she got a call at around 5:30 a.m., on Friday from a passerby saying the kangaroo farm’s gate was halfway up the driveway.

“Shock,” Caroline Wightman said when asked what her initial reaction was. “I couldn’t understand how it had gotten that far up our driveway.”

The kangaroo farm recently moved from Lake Country to its new location at 5932 Old Vernon Road in Kelowna.

Upon closer inspection, Wightman told Global News it’s highly likely the gate was struck by a vehicle.

“You could see where the gate had kind of folded over the top of the vehicle,” she said.

“It has kind of taken on the shape of the front of a vehicle. I can’t think of anything else that could have possibly caused that.”

1:53 Wallaby joey

Wightman said the gate has dark green paint on it, likely the colour of the vehicle involved.

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“It would have a lot of damage to it. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s damage to the roof and the windshield as well as the front of the car,” Wightman said.

“They must have hit it at a tremendous rate of speed . . . because it had traveled so far. It was at least 100, 150 feet up the driveway.”

It’s not known whether this was an act of vandalism or an accident.

“I hope it wasn’t deliberate,” she said.

0:38 Kangaroo tries to escape floodwater at Lake Conjola, New South Wales

Wightman said she’s waiting to pull surveillance footage from the farm’s security camera.

In the meantime, she hopes whoever is responsible comes forward.

“It’s my understanding that if this is a motor vehicle accident, the damage repair could be a claim for through ICBC,” she said. “It would be an easy way of getting restitution.”

The farm owners have managed to straighten the gate by driving on it with a tractor so it can be used as a temporary barrier.

1:12 Group of Kangaroos seen frolicking in the snow in Australia

But, said Wightman, the timing of having to do a more permanent fix is not ideal.

“The timing is especially unfortunate because we had already gone out on a limb financially to make the move and since we opened, attendance has not been ideal,” said Wightman.

“I say we have been down over 30 per cent, and so, at the moment, we are literally treading water. So an expense like that, it’s not helpful.”