Kangaroos, Pondalowie Bay, Yorke Peninsula

Western Grey Kangaroo, Pondalowie Bay, South Australia

Just as we were leaving the camping grounds at Pondalowie Bay we came across a small mob of Western Grey Kangaroos right next to the road. Being in the Innes National Park this would be quite a normal sighting. In fact, this group was not at all perturbed by our car just a few metres away as they are quite used to vehicles moving through the park every day. During the summer months vehicles probably pass this way every few minutes.

Various forms of kangaroos and wallabies abound in rural Australian regions (pun intended). They are a hazard to fast moving vehicles on country roads, especially at night when they tend to come out to graze. I have experienced first hand the damage a ‘roo can do to a car with no protective bars. The damage is not only to the car; many hundreds, perhaps thousands of kangaroos and wallabies become road kill statistics every year. Sad but true.

As we drove back to our motel in the dusk that evening I slowed done. I didn’t want to add to those statistics.

Western Grey Kangaroos, Pondalowie Bay, South Australia

Western Grey Kangaroo, Pondalowie Bay, South Australia

Kangaroos, Monarto Zoo, South Australia

Western Grey Kangaroo (with joey), Monarto Zoo, South Australia

Western Grey Kangaroo (with joey), Monarto Zoo, South Australia

On our bus tour of Monarto Zoo last year I managed to get these photos of several kangaroos. The Western Grey Kangaroo was carrying a joey in the pouch (see above).  Below is a shot of a large Red Kangaroo.

When the zoo was opened to the public in 1993 the area was enclosed by a tall fence. Some kangaroos native to this area were trapped inside the fence and have continued to thrive, albeit not in the enclosures housing the cheetahs and lions!

Western Grey Kangaroo (with joey), Monarto Zoo, South Australia

Western Grey Kangaroo (with joey), Monarto Zoo, South Australia

Red Kangaroo, Monarto Zoo, South Australia

Red Kangaroo, Monarto Zoo, South Australia