Kangaroos

Hello My Dear Great Ones,

A trip to Australia would not be complete without seeing some kangaroos.  My first sighting of a kangaroo was not so good.  It was quite dead on the side of a road.  Over 20 000 are killed by cars or trucks every year and their corpses litter the highways of Australia much like gophers do on Alberta roads during the summer.  Yuck. But before you get too sad there are 25 million kangaroos in Australia, a million more than the human population.  And they are everywhere.   They kind of remind me of deer, yet when they stand on their haunches and then start hopping it is for me, a non Australian, quite amazing.  Here are a few pictures and videos that Celia and I took of Australia's icon, found on its coat of arms and on some of its money too:

Celia and I went to an animal sanctuary.  Here the kangaroos were rather docile and easy to see.  In the wild it is much harder.

Here is a mother with a rather large Joey.

Kangaroos hang out in groups called mobs, troops, or courts.

Two kangaroos on the move.

In rural Australia many cars are equipped with "roo bars."  Good for the safety of the car and passengers, but not good for the kangaroos.

I ate some kangaroo steak during my travels.  It was actually quite good.  Very lean and tasty.

Have a great week everyone!  

God bless you!

Love adios and ping on!

Dirk