'Up Close With Kangaroos.'
They can be very fiesty at times and a few people have come off second best when getting up close and personal to kangaroos but when they're docile like the ones I have photographed in this blog, it is a great experience to interact with them and learn more about them.
The two locations where I captured these images were at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and the Rockhampton Zoo in Queensland, Australia.
Kangaroos are large marsupials and are only found in Australia. They are characterised by their strong back legs, large feet, short fur and long, pointed ears and muscular tails. The females pouches contain mammary glands, where their young feed and live until old enough to investigate the world, away from their mothers.
Kangaroos belong to the Macropodidae family, and this group includes tree-kangaroos, wallabies, wallaroos, quokkas and pademelons. People are generally more familiar with one of the four main species of kangaroo which include the antilopine kangaroo, the red kangaroo, the western gray kangaroo and the eastern gray kangaroo. These roos are often referred to as the "great kangaroos" due to their large size.
The largest kangaroo, is the red kangaroo and they measure up to 1.6 meters in length but their tails range from 90 to 110 centimeters in length. They weigh approximately 200 lbs. (90 kilograms)
The musky rat-kangaroo is the smallest species and weighs about 340 grams. Tree-kangaroos live in the upper branches of trees in the rainforests of Queensland, as well as on the island of New Guinea.
Kangaroos are the only large animals that hop as a primary means of getting around. Their springy hind legs and feet are much stronger and larger than their arms. A kangaroo can reach 15 feet in one hop and can hop as fast as 30 mph (48 kph)
A brave pigeon edges very close to this roo hoping to steal some of the seed that visitors have left for the kangaroo.
Their cruising speed is approximately 20mph. They use their muscular tails as an extra leg when grazing and this allows them to push off the ground in a slow, laconic manner.
Kangaroos are generally social animals and often gather in groups and these are called mobs, herds or troops. They will often groom one another and will protect those in their mob from danger.
They warn their herd of imminent danger by stomping their feet on the ground which makes the others alert and wary. And if an opponent causes problems, Kangaroos are adept at boxing or kicking their way out of trouble.
Swamp Wallaby: (Wallabia Bicolour) Swamp Wallabies diet consists of native ferns, shrubs, grass, rushes and fungi but they also chew on toxic plants which are indedible to other animals such as bracken fern.
Swamp Wallabies have a habit of hiding in thick forest undergrowth during the day and then make an appearance at dusk to graze. Swamp Wallabies can also be found on Stradbroke Island which of course is isolated from their mainland cousins. Over time, their fur has changes to golden brown and are known as Golden Swamp Wallabies.
This kangaroo is oblivious of the attention he is receiving whilst having a snooze in the sun.
Another visitor grabs some shots of a second, sleepy kangaroo.
Red Legged Pademelons (Thylogale Stigmatica) enjoy eating Moreton Bay Figs, fallen fruit, leaves and berries from native trees but they also happily graze on grass as well.
They are shy creatures and are located in rainforests, wet eucalypt forests along the east coast of Australia, from Tamworth in New South Wales to Cape York in Queensland.
Their bodies are compact which enables them to hop through dense bush if pursued by predators such as foxes.
I'll leave you with this image of a young joey; alert and inqusitive to his surroundings. Isn't he adorable?
THANK YOU FOR VIEWING. HAVE A GREAT DAY.
