Kangaroo Mini Blog

Kangaroo Mini Blog

It has occurred to me since posting a picture of a kangaroo against the skyline on facebook, that you folks back home may not actually be properly acquainted with this whimsical and flighty critter. This lack of understanding is a bit odd given that they have very slyly hopped into American culture. Consider all the ways we see kangaroos manifesting themselves in American society. Winnie the Pooh has friends named Kanga and Roo. We have movies like Kangaroo Jack where the show is stolen by a troublesome kangaroo. Kangaroos show up in about half the David Attenborough documentaries. Who hasn't recently seen the adorable picture of the joey hugging his teddy bear on the internet? What American school child doesn't know that a kangaroo's signature attribute is it's pouch? It just all seems rather odd considering these creatures make their homes half way around the world from us.

For all your average American does know about kangaroos, there is a whole host of information that they are probably not aware of. There is not just a “kangaroo” but many different species of these bouncing herbivores. On a daily basis I run into at least two distinct kinds. One is the famous Red Kangaroo and the other is the Wallaroo. Red Kangaroos are often brown but can have a deep red coat and are indeed the poster child species for the whole of Australia. Wallaroos are usually very muscular and live in the rocky hills whereas reds often live on the wide open plains.

Since we've all seen David Attenborough a host of times, if you haven't you should, and since I, while sitting on my front porch, refuse to do any scientific research whatsoever into this matter, we will merely confine ourselves to the social and phenotypical oddities of kangaroos.

The simple fact that must be stated right way and adequately stressed is that kangaroos are EXTREMELY silly animals. I have often told Allan that he should get a dash cam and post every hilarious thing that happens involving kangaroos to youtube. This would grant him instant internet god status. From the passenger seat of the Landcruiser I have often beheld kangaroos first waking up, then bolting only to find that their flight is blocked by a tree, stream bed, or in one case... another kangaroo. There is no chardenfreude like the feeling of watching a kangaroo wipe out in a giant cloud of dust and panic. This is a fate usually suffered by does. The big bucks will often simply sit there and stare at you with a begrudging look on their face as if to say, “hey buddy, this is my dried up tuft of grass. Go find your own.”

Red Roos waking up from sleeping in the road. 

Since we'd be here all day if I were to try and tell you every story of kangaroos losing it in a hasty escape, I'll just tell you my personal favorite. One day I was riding the dirt bike through the outback when I saw a very small joey standing next to his mother. I stopped at what I thought was a respectful distance to let them get out of the way. They seemed to agree with my presence at first but after a couple of seconds of thoughtful staring the joey decided that this was the most startling and frightening thing he'd seen all day. Unfortunately this was news to his rather placid mother who turned around to find her terrified youngun scampering over the spinifex grass. She hopped after him with her long bounding strides until he had the presence of mind to decide that where he ought to be was in her pouch. Upon making this decision he stopped on a dime and abruptly ran into his mother and fell down. Still in a profound state of panic, he jumped up and began clawing his way into his comparatively safe abode. His mother gave him a practiced scoop at which point he flopped head first into her pouch. The perturbed kangaroo then looked at me as if to say, “see what you've done?” and hopped off. Our friend the joey still hadn't calmed down enough to right himself and so as mama bounded away there was the distinct flailing kick of panic stricken legs protruding from her belly.

This is just the kind of scenario that should have you rethinking the assumption you have always held that kangaroos are dignified majestic creatures. They are, in fact, some of the goofiest and most entertaining animals I have ever had the fortune to run across. That being said, there is something about them that inspires a feeling of respect. They are obviously very caring parents and often stand between you and their joey while trying to decide if you are a threat. Kangaroos are also usually seen in family groups of four or more so there is no denying that they are social creatures. This is also apparent from the anecdotal tales I have heard that they make extremely good pets. Sometimes you hear of an orphaned wallaby or small species of roo being taken in by humans. The story always goes that they're tiny and cute at first but the moment they hit puberty they begin to bound around and randomly headbutt stuff seemingly in a misguided attempt to assert their social position.

Well I would like to go riding my bike as it is the usual 80 degrees and sunny here so if you excuse me I'll be off. If I see any roos behaving badly I'll be sure to report their antics on facebook.

Keep on hoppin' friends!