It occurred to me when
I was standing amidst a sea of them, all stretched out and lazy in the heat of
the Australian midday sun. Some had their scratchy little hands crossed in
front of them like old ladies clutching handbags. Others used them to rub
tummies full of kangaroo pellets offered by eager tourists with their two
dollar paper bags. The lazier of the bunch seemed to have no control over their
hands at all, letting them hang in strange shapes above them as though paying
homage to the sun. In contrast to these tiny limbs, pairs of long legs stretched
out like petrified snakes.
I had infiltrated the
camp during the daily siesta snooze.
I sauntered through,
amused at the various restful poses and realising that male kangaroos have no
shame. I stumbled across a small female moving slowly amongst her kin, her
twitching black nose stuck to the scent of left over pellets on the dusty
ground. Seizing my chance, I crouched down and offered her a flat handful of
pellets. When she reached out with her tiny fingers to pluck one from amongst
the dozen, I smiled in surprise and, catching onto the etiquette, selected
another and held it out between my thumb and forefinger. We remained in this
feeding regime for a few minutes until she stretched to reveal her tummy and a
pouch full of joey. Instantly my camera clicked to capture the oversized ears
and thickly lashed eyes.
In the gift shop a lady
produced an orphaned joey from her bag and offered me a hold. I held the
man-made pouch and felt the warmth of the package within as it wriggled and
rooted.
Driving home I saw a
flutter of pink ribbon at the side of the road, then another and another. They
were tied in perfect bows, as though someone had taken considerable time and
care over their appearance. Had it not been for the fact that they were
attached to the strong hind legs of dead kangaroos I would have found them
quite pretty. Pink ribbons to mark the carcasses of Australian road kill ready
for collection. I supposed they chose the colour to cheer the situation up. Add
a bow to anything and it seems much brighter. It’s all about the packaging.
So anyway, the thing
I’ve noticed about kangaroos is…
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