Memorable Encounters....the Animals of Australia Part 1 - Kangaroos
Not even in zoos have I seen kangaroos. Imagine my surprise when we were staying at one of our airbnb's and the entire grassy area by the beach was filled with as many as 100, of various ages! These groups are called troops or herds ("mobs by Australians.") We were less than a quarter of a block from them. I was in awe and took way too many photographs of these marsupials during our stay, but no complaints, it was the only place on our trip where they were in the wild and allowed you to get sort of close. In these mobs, is a large male, called ("old man," or "boomer") that dominates during mating season. There was no mistaking him as he kept his eye on me. This area had two sets of mobs, one that was laying under the trees by the homes, and the other in a more thick area of trees about 50 yards apart. I would say that this is about the same as here in Michigan having geese everywhere, and not being able to walk without the soles of your shoes being covered in poop!
I was warned not to seem like a predator to them. The have have been known to disembowel dogs and humans with their huge clawed hind feet. Which is why I stayed behind trees! Since we were in the eastern part of Australia, the ones I photographed are the eastern gray kangaroo. The alpha male can grow up to 6.9 feet and weigh about 200 pounds. Seeing a couple of females with young in their pouches was fantastic, but was not able to approach them at all. The can leap up to 30 feet, but the ones I saw didn't leap half as far.
The fact that these kangaroos were living so close to civilization was interesting...also was the fact that most of the SUV's had huge bush guards on the front of their vehicles. We saw so many dead kangaroos and wallabies on the side of the roads, which is why we never drove at night!!!!
To have had this experience was spectacular and I could have spent hours being around them, but alas, the rest of Australia and Tasmania was beckoning.
For more information: https://www.australia.com/en-us
Photographs taken with a Nikon Z6II and Z lens.
