Kangaroo Newsletter Kangamail Archives 13.There are now three Kangaroo Books on the market that we recommend that everyone should read. Kangaroos, out Gentle Aussie Icons, by Pat O’Brien, available for online purchase here; or PO Box 309 Beerwah, Qld, 4519. Cost is $17.95 plus $5 postage and handling. Kangaroos, Myths and Realities, by Maryland Wilson and Dr David Croft. It is available by mail order from AWPC, 247 Flinders Lane Melbourne. Cost is $30 plus $10 postage and handling. The other is a fantastic little book by Lee Curtis called the Green Guide to Kangaroos and Wallabies of Australia. The ISBN number is 1 74110 203 0, published by New Holland Publishers, and should be available in good bookshops, or order from your local bookshop. Ps. Please do not put cash in the Post. Now that mail is being x-rayed for security reasons, there have been numerous instances of mail being opened because cash can be seen inside. Even if mailing a cheque or money order nowadays to a PO Box, you should register the envelope, because there have also been numerous instances of mail going into the wrong mail box and disappearing. Online purchases through a Secure Server is now one of the safest ways to make a long-distance purchase. ******************************************** Kangaroos can Swim! There has been some discussion through some of the wildlife care networks about swimming kangaroos. Everyone has heard the story about how a kangaroo when chased by a dog will enter a dam and then hold the dog under until it drowns. There are several anecdotal versions to this story, and I’ve no doubt it has happened, probably many times. But kangaroos and wallabies will also swim in the oceans, as the following reports reveal. One wildlife carer group have been advised by Victoria Parks that kangaroos and wallabies will swim from an island off Wilson’s Prom to the mainland on a regular basis and until recently, there were a couple of wallabies living on a small island in Lake Wendouree who regularly swam ashore, had a nibble of everyone’s gardens and swam back to their island. There are other reports of wallabies and kangaroos swimming from point a to point b in quite a few areas. One Victorian carer has photo's of one swimming across the river up near Tocumwal. Another person on the Gold Coast in Queensland reports that Golden Swamp Wallabies regularly swim from South Stradbroke Island to the mainland. Wallabies also regularly swim between Deal and Erith Island in Bass Strait. That’s not a swim for the faint hearted - winds and tides are pretty strong between the islands. Another carer saw a badly wounded kangaroo with an infected wound at the edge of a dam packing the wound with mud and recently they had to rescue one in a river nearby which turned out to have a bad leg break. This particular kangaroo was standing on a rock in the middle of a deep river. No doubt he couldn’t swim with a broken leg. Interesting rescue but as it turned out, they had him out in 10 minutes from arriving on scene. Took a few kayaks and one tinny but they did it. Another report indicates that maybe kangaroos and wallabies also do it to help heal scratches or irritations, as one carer has used salty water to clean some wounds on animals or maybe salts and minerals possibly lacking in their diet. Or maybe they just like to go for a bit of a swim like us sometimes. In floods, kangaroos can get swept away and drowned. There is a report of one being found swimming offshore, and rescued by a fishing trawler. Another remembers one kangaroo she had years ago who used to hang over a bucket and soak her arms in it to keep cool during the really hot days. This particular one used to come home (she lived in the bush) and lie down in the herb garden, then pull the herbs over her head to keep the flys away! Smart kangaroo! This particular roo also used to use her as a babysitter when she was off flirting (the kangaroo, not the carer!) with the local roos as well. She parked the young ones in the garden and took off and left them - they never moved and stayed there until she came back for them. The carer couldn't (wouldn't) go near them though, as they were wild babies - they just sat very still quietly waiting where she left them . She did that with 2 of her joeys over a period of time. Amazing how the kangaroos know when somewhere is safe! However it's not all good news on the swimming front. One group of carers have rescued two wallabies from swimming pools in their local area, and in both cases the joey in the pouch had drowned. Some research suggests that kangaroos can draw the mouth of the pouch up tightly when swimming, so the joey can’t drown. However, when stuck in a swimming pool, they probably can’t do that for any length of time. Kangaroos swim by moving their legs independently of each other......something that they can’t do on land! Meanwhile I’ve seen a grey kangaroo body surfing, I watched it through binoculars as it swam down the beach in light surf for 1/2 mile or so before getting out and returning to the scrub. I assumed it may have had ticks, or was just hot. In Tasmania, where the water is very cold, wallabies are reputed to wear wet suits when body surfing! ;o) I’ve also seen several times kangaroos swim across mangrove creeks, even at low tide. They are so light that they don’t sink into the mud very far, then when they reach the water, they just swim the rest of the way. This was on Rosewood Island in Central Qld, with a fairly high crocodile population. Once I saw one swim to the Mainland at low tide, about 1/2 a mile away. If you are interested in wildlife caring, and in reading more information about kangaroos and other wildlife, you can subscribe to the Ozark information Network at www.ozark.wild.net.au * WPAA ******************************************** Police say they have had to kill several kangaroos which have been badly injured after being in collisions with cars on Churchill Park Drive in Endeavour Hills. Sergeant John Blackburn of Endeavour Hills police said officers had shot 10 kangaroos in the past six months, the most recent being last Thursday morning. Sgt Blackburn said an officer from the station would now undergo special training to learn how to humanely kill kangaroos and they would also receive new equipment to carry out the task. He said police officers had noticed an increase in the kangaroo population in the Endeavour Hills area and also warned people driving along the stretch of road to be on the lookout for the two-legged marsupials. “They are coming out of the National Park and are hitting cars and are left lying on the side of the road. “Drivers need to be more aware of the kangaroos in the early morning and at dusk just after dark. “They (kangaroos) are just everywhere. “Americans make jokes that Australia has kangaroos jumping around in the suburban streets and around Churchill Park they do. “Tourists will come out here for the mountain bike riding at Lysterfield Park and will be able to see a lot of kangaroos,” he said. Manager of Churchill Park Golf Club Russell Donovan said he saw a lot of kangaroos roaming in the area but they were not causing the golf course any problems. “We certainly do see a lot of kangaroos, particularly late at night. “We have had no complaints from our members though and in fact they are popular and people like to see them. “They mainly keep to themselves and just hop away but I have seen quite a few hit by cars. “They are not a nuisance,” he said. * Berwick News 10/2 ******************************************** I don’t know whether Kangamail readers have seen this webpage below, but even if you have, its worth another read, because nothing much has changed! It would also be useful to copy the text, as the page may be taken down soon. http://www.smuggled.com/vac.htm ******************************************** Another meat substitution scandal has broken out in Europe, this time a major salami factory! We don’t have all the details yet, but why are we not surprised! ******************************************** A man who accidentally shot his car while aiming at a kangaroo is among the strangest insurance claim explanations received by the RACT. RACT Insurance manager Peter Eaton said most claims received by the company were accompanied by plausible explanations, but every now and then something bizarre appeared. This claim was paid out. * ******************************************** February 12, 2006 Something is puzzling the great insurance companies of France. Every few months or so, a French provincial motorist submits a claim for damage to a vehicle with a wild attendant story about hitting a kangaroo deep in the ancient forest of Rambouillet. The funny thing is, it's not made up. It was in December, just before Christmas, recalls Brigitte Perrin, 56, who lives in the tiny forest township of Emance. "My husband and I were driving home, and it was very cold and dark," she said. "Suddenly a kangaroo jumped in front of the car. It was like a deer, but a deer bounds away. This creature just sat there. "Even though I was driving slowly, I couldn't avoid it, it was the same colour as the trees, very hard to see." Renault: 1. Kangaroo: Nil. But when Mme Perrin contacted her insurance company to claim for repairs to her vehicle, she hit a snag; the company raised a corporate eyebrow at her tale of the marauding moonlight macropod. And fair enough; who would expect to find a kangaroo sniffing about just an hour from Paris? Emance Mayor Francoise Grangeon is now a regular correspondent with French insurance companies. She has written numerous letters vouching for the presence of kangaroos - wallabies, actually - roaming wild in the Rambouillet Forest. They have bred in the wild there for about 30 years, having escaped long ago from the local Parc de Sauvage wildlife park. And despite a long period of expatriate life, they have evidently not yet learned to look before they cross French roads. In the meantime, the municipality of Emance has reached a truce of sorts with the insurance industry. Emance grants residency status to the roos, and the insurers pay up. Now to introduce the saltwater crocodile. *French Media *Ed Comment; there are a number of wild wallaby colonies throughout the world. usually they start of with a couple of animals escaping from a zoo, and then breed up to colony. ********************************************
|
