As I was concentratedly endeavouring to capture the madly
mating dragonflies on the pond in the park, I was shocked to
hear the thunder of hoofbeats behind me. While turning to
see I thought 'but the horse is in the other paddock and why
this mad gallop?'
Startled, I saw a 7' kangaroo coming down at me at full tilt.
He did not see me,and veered around the bank not 3" away
from me.
stopped in sheer amazement at his great bounds and speed. He
had taken the fence behind me in one huge leap, clearing it by
well over 1', a real candidate for the olympics!
one and bounce like a ball off the ground.
wildlife corridors along our road verges and establishing some
Eucalyptus plantations, the kangaroo population has escalated
in quite an alarming way, to the point of the council putting
up kangaroo warning signs of which the roos take no notice
whatsoever.
trees on the far side and about to sail over the next fence.
returning and do not mind sharing the pastures with them,
they do great damage to our fences. The big ones just take
them in their stride but the smaller ones break through
them in so many places that they have become like sieves and
our sheep wander where they will and can easily stray from home.
Just the tail end still showing and one of our resident waterfowl.
All photos enlarge if you wish to see the majesty of this beast.
Thanks to Michelle of Rambling Woods for hosting this meme.
Do click on the Nature Notes Logo and see the other entries.
Truly amazing to see a kangaroo in full gallop! Loved the photos that caught it mid air.
ReplyDeleteI find the wild life of Australia so interesting; there are animals like nothing else on earth---this was truly a treat for me!
XXOO~~♥
Anne
How lucky you were to see this beautiful and remarkable animal. I know that they are sometimes annoying, but still I admire kangaroos. A friend of my daughter's had bananas in her garden and she saw that a small group of wallabies were standing around one of the banana trees. The biggest one picked bananas and divided them among the small ones.
ReplyDeleteIt's so amazing to me to think about seeing kangaroos running wild having only seen them here in cages. I hate to see any animal in a cage, but realize it's the only safe place for many and if left in their own environment, thanks to humans, they would soon disappear completely. So, it's delightful to think of them bounding across the countryside -- although I know it must play hell with your fences! Have a lovely evening, enjoy your day and don't get in the way of a big kangaroo!
ReplyDeleteSylvia
Wow, he is all thigh! So glad he did not knock you down. Or perhaps it would have bounced over you.
ReplyDeleteOooh, mating dragonflies. Yes, I guess they preferred their privacy.
in my experience, and i've been a wildlife zoologist, he was probably being chased by something such as a dog or a man with a gun. k.
ReplyDeleteAnne,
ReplyDeletefor some reason the roo population is exploding or is it just that we seem to draw wildlife. Last week I poster a mother and Joey in our mountain garden. They did now bat an eye when I walked out and stood within feet of them, just kept grazing in our yard.
Wil,
thanks for your story, I have never seen a wallaby do that but then, we have no bananas either.
I was more lucky not to be bounced upon than to see one. We have so many. I think my quiet spirit made him totally unaware of me, I was just part of the landscape.
Sylvia,
I too hate to see caged animals too, especially those that are not endangered and only there for our amusement.
Bella,
don't you malign my dragonflies, they have no shame at all!!!
Kaite,
thanks for your comment, great to have a zoologist on board.
He certainly was not afraid, spooked or chased, just going about his business and taking a short-cut through the park to wherever he was headed.
Can you tell me whether he is a big red or an eastern grey? To me he looked like a red, particularly with his great height towering above me.
i'd need to see the front of his face but from what i can see he was probably a Grey. The head of the Red's are much heavier set and the ears are longer and thicker. And if you thought those thighs were heavy then you should see the thighs of an adult male Red!
ReplyDeleteIt's very rare to see a male in full flight alone, that's why i said he could have been chased, and it could have been from some distance back too.
wow, to hear the galloping and have the camera ready, magnificent!
ReplyDeleteyour kangaroo sounds a lot like out deer and the gardening problems people have!
Thank you for your heartfelt comment, you made and make my heart smile.
Can't find my comment here, I wrote about your Australian Food TV show, My Kitchen Rules, I just watched on Tuesday. One couple cooked Roo meat, and they were not very good, and were eliminated.
ReplyDeleteI watched the Master chef too, Oz. Ours is delayed telecast.
Is this comment you don't understand?
Wow, those roos are Huge! Sure glad you didn't get knocked into the pond. Sure got some great captures of it in action.
ReplyDeleteNice motion photos. It is amazing how you captured the kangaroo mid jump.
ReplyDeleteAwesome photos! It is amazing that he was that close. I am so glad he did not run over you? These are pictures to keep for life.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness..I can see why they would be as dangerous or probably more than our deer on the road. A lot of power in those legs...thank you for updating me on you fall. I am so happy that you came through that one as it must have been a terrible sight....you take care..hugs.. Michelle
ReplyDeleteExciting to see the kangaroo hop, but I can understand mixed feelings if they do damage. Great captures of the Olympian marsupial.
ReplyDelete"putting up kangaroo warning signs" - really? This sounds like a Far Side cartoon, a kangaroo reading then ignoring a sign.
You captured the speed of the the kangaroo so well. So much fun for me to see them on your blog since I've never seen one in person.
ReplyDeleteYou got some fantastic photos of the kangaroo, Arija! You were definitely in the right place at the right time. :)
ReplyDelete