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Roger, the Ripped-as-all-Hell Kangaroo, Has Died

Roger, a kangaroo who rose to global fame due to his incredible physicality, has died. He was 12.
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All photos via Facebook. 

It is our sad duty to report that Roger, the bodybuilder-esque kangaroo who leaped into hearts around the world, is no longer with us.

The news was brought to us in a Facebook video by Chris Barnes of the Kangaroo Sanctuary. Barnes, sitting on the ground, flanked by small kangaroos, emotionally told the world of the passing of their favourite jacked kangaroo.

“It’s a sad day,” he said. “Our beautiful boy, Roger, has passed away.”

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Barnes goes on to explain that without Roger, there would be no kangaroo sanctuary as the whole project started 10 years ago with our muscle-bound boy and a few of his wives—Ella and Abigail. “[Roger] grew up to be a kangaroo that people from all over the world grew to love as much as we did,” Barnes said in the video.

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The photo that thrust Roger into the spotlight.

The official Twitter account of Australia praised him as “a true icon” and tributes poured in on every social media platform.

Our musclebound marsupial first came to our attention in 2015 when a photo of him just straight fucking crushing a bucket went viral. In the photo, Roger looks like a deity–with muscles rippling in the Australian sun, he shows the world the bucket he seemingly crushed as easily as a drunk holding a solo cup.

“Line up ladies,” reads the post. “With over 12 kangaroo wives, Roger the ripped kangaroo will crush your heart as fast as he crushed his metal feed bucket.”

Yup, you read that right. Roger, alongside being a fitness icon, was an amorous boy. In his sanctuary, he was the alpha bro and had upwards of twelve wives who he reportedly pleased regularly. It wasn’t just the hearts of fellow roos that Roger was breaking, there were plenty of articles (written by actual humans) about the “sexy kangaroo” that kinda implied they wanted to fuck this animal.

The last photo of Roger. Even in his old age, he was jacked as fuck.

The last photo of Roger. Even in his old age, he was jacked as fuck.

At his peak, Roger stood at 6 foot 7 and weighed over 200 pounds. He was, for a lack of a better term, a roo you didn’t want to fuck with.

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From the modest beginnings of a viral Instagram post, Roger’s fame blossomed. By the time of his death, he had “millions of fans,” said Barnes. Side note: I’m not going to fact check his amount of fans, we’re going to go with Barnes here. Tons of stories have been written about the big boy and the sanctuary's social media accounts blew up because of Roger. The photos of him popping his pecs and the videos of him tossing some sweet kickboxing moves out would typically get massive view counts, upwards of hundreds of thousands at times.

Roger was a roo like no other. A quick Google search shows that the average age of a kangaroo who dies in the wild tends to be 10 years old, so Roger, as always, did a little extra. Life isn’t a movie though and Roger sadly didn’t go into the dark night smoothly. The last few years were difficult for the kangaroo as he was afflicted with the same symptoms that many of us who reach the golden years will—loss of vision and arthritis.

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Roger showed us that even the sturdiest walls collapse, that even the tallest mountains are eventually climbed, that even the prettiest flower wilts, but he showed us much much more. Roger showed us how we should live—jacked as hell, hopping around the outback.

Barnes said that the crew at the Kangaroo Sanctuary laid our big boy to rest in his own little corner of the outback so he can be with his family. “He’ll always be here,” Barnes said, gesturing around him. While Barnes was referencing the dark red sand and thorny bushes around him—he could have easily meant our hearts.

Rest easy, you sweet, jacked, bouncy prince.

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