Undara kangaroos

When we arrived in Undara our campsite was surrounded by kangeroos. I was so excited!!! They were the first ones I had seen in the wild. There were two juvenile roos engaged in a boxing match. It was hilarious. They would jump up into each other, fists flying (actually - I should say 'claws'). Ever so often one would take off with a flying leap and kick the other one. It was highly entertaining to watch. I kept trying to film them, but every time I approached they would stop and look at me. I did manage to capture some of it on film, but they are pretty far away. If you watch the video below you will see them boxing in the distance.

Our guide attempted to explain the differences between kangeroos, wallaroos and wallabies. We saw all three of them in Undara. The kangeroos were Eastern Greys and they hung out in groups. They were longer and leaner than the wallaroos. The wallaroos are very independent so you usually only spot one of them or a mother and her young. They are reddish in color and have more of a dog-like expression on their faces. They had dark snouts and more rounded ears. They were also of a thicker, stockier build. The wallabies are the smallest of all. They also seemed to have dark noses. All of them were cute! If you look closely at the pictures above, there is a mother with a joey in her pouch. The joey's legs are dangling out of the pouch. I kept hoping she would shift around in there so I could see her face, but I guess she must have been feeding or comfortable face down...

Here is Stephen's kangeroo poem....

Beneath the trees in golden grass,
Kangaroos were hopping past.
Hoping for a chance to catch
The latest friendly boxing match.

Two contestants push and kick,
Twitch their noses, hop a bit.
Back and forth with heads held high,
Nose to nose, eye to eye.

But soon they're losing interest
Bottoms down, they take a rest
And think of something else to do
Leaves to nibble, grass to chew.

Then legs outstretched in sun they snooze
Side by side these kangaroos
Warming tummies, warming feet
Like two old men draped on a beach.

Joey watches from his pouch
No room for legs, they dangle out
Until it's time to take another
Bouncy trip with bouncy mother.