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Lots of Dead Kangaroos

kangaroo.corpse

Alfrescian
Loyal
http://www.thylazine.org/gallery/roadroos/

Thousands of kangaroos die on the Stuart Highway, which is the length of Australia from Darwin to Adelaide.

Their claws clutch at the sides of the bitumen.

This kangaroo was named -O- because in her death she appeared to howl.

Malu (Marlu Marlu) is one of the spiritual names for the kangaroo along this stretch of highway in South Australia.

The heat, flies, maggots and rotting corpses give off the smell of LPG gas.

These corpses were documented for approx. 3,000 kilometres.

I wanted their brief lives and tragic deaths to have meant something.

This mother kangaroo was carrying a joey in her pouch.

I travelled this highway for as long as it took to document every kangaroo who still had a face.

These animals are the victims of human traffic.

This slaughter occurs every night on Australian outback highways.

It is mainly caused by trucks, roadtrains and luxury tourist coaches keeping to a schedule by speeding down these highways at night.

Other times it is caused by people who drive at night.

The last dead kangaroo that I photographed was named 'the 5K kangaroo' as she was just 5km from the town centre in Port Augusta in South Australia.

Much of Australia's wildlife is nocturnal, moving across the highways after dark when it's cooler.

People should not be driving at night on any outback roads in Australia.

While photographing the dead kangaroos, I met Don. Don works for a company that cleans the roadkill (traffic hazzard) off the highways.

Australia is famous for its wildlife. But when visiting Australia, tourists soon learn that the dead are more visible than the living.

From the decay I was determined to name each one of them.

I took some photos of dead roos along the Stuart Hwy from Pine Creek to Katherine covering a distance of 89km. I took 87 photos. This took 5 hours.

These roadtrains serve the double horror of taking thousands of innocent cows to their slaughter, as well as killing native wildlife.

This occurs because some people like the taste of meat (animal flesh).

The violence on Australia's highways is a reflection of a violent Australian culture.

I named this beautful red kangaroo 'the crucifixtion kangaroo.'

These signs appeared in South Australia, but most of the kangaroos died in The Northern Territory where there were no signs.

It was as though the kangaroos didn't exist.

It was awful to see the gentle face of this magnificent male kangaroo dragged along the bitumen. I had been strong but this one brought me to tears.

I drove from Katherine to Elliot and took 241 photographs of all the dead kangaroos who still had a face.

These forgotten victims are left to rot away on both sides of the Stuart Highway.

Maggots, blowflies, stench, heat, agony, silence.

My primary concern was the 'individuality' of each kangaroo.

I am now able to tell you where the most lives have been lost, from one end of Australia to the other,

including the differences in the density and the variation of species being killed.

Their nightly movements over a period of time can be evidenced from the dead.

Don scapes kangaroos and other wildlife off the highways. The company he works for is subcontracted by the Dept of Transport and Works.

I named this roo Teddy. He would have been a beautiful boy when he was alive.

I drove from Elliot to Renner Springs and took 349 photographs and from Ti Tree to Alice Springs taking 704 photographs.

Altogether I took 2,500 photographs.

I want their agony to teach us about how it is wrong to inflict pain upon others.

There are always things that we can do to save their lives before its too late.

And to save the lives of the scavenger animals such as crows, wedgetail eagles, kites, cats, foxes and dingoes who are then hit while feeding on the kangaroo corpses.

Don't drive at night in the Australian outback. Do a wildlife rescue course.

Always check the pouches of does for joeys. This tragic photo shows the small gangly legs of the dead joey still in his mother's pouch.

Don't speed during the day, especially when it is raining, at dusk or during drought. Truck and tourist coaches must stop driving at night on outback highways.

The spirituality of this country is born of the land and its creatures. This senseless carnage of Australia's wildlife can and must stop now.
 

Aussie Pete

Alfrescian
Loyal
You will probably hate me for what I'm about to say, given the tone of your post, but there are some facts that need to be laid to bare.

Although the Kangaroo (most varieties anyway) is a 'cute' animal, it is a downright pest in the Australian outback, where, due to numerous reasons, the population has grown to mammoth out of control proportions. This is why there are controlled culls to try and reduce the population. They are wiping out farmer's livelihood by the thousands.

It is sad to see any animal killed on the road, but if the population of roos were able to be kept in check, the incidences would be much less. Also, on the 'flip-side' here, many people have died as a result of an errant roo into which their vehicle has collided. We are talking entire human families here.

Roos jump out on the road with no warning, attracted by headlights, even at lower speeds, it is next to impossible not to hit one, should it venture in front of a vehicle.

And for the record, we have rescued and raised more than one joey as our pet.

The death of roos on the road is nothing to do with 'Australian culture', it is something that we have had to live with since the invention of the motor vehicle. Posting pictures of dead animals and then follow-up with a sucker-punch to Aussie culture, is not the right way to solve the problem. Nor is asking people not to drive at night. We must continue with controlled culling and one day, we might be able to bring the kangaroo pest (albeit cute) population into some sort of order.

My sincere apologies if I've offended you - but I speak only the truth here.
 

tonychat

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
Although the Kangaroo (most varieties anyway) is a 'cute' animal, it is a downright pest in the Australian outback, where, due to numerous reasons, the population has grown to mammoth out of control proportions.


There is a new way to control the population of kangaroos, just give them china-made food products. Their population will be reduced effectively.
 

congo9

Alfrescian
Loyal
May be we can introduce some predator into the AUstralian Out back ? So that we can control the population of the kagaroo.

Saw documentary, that Yellow stone National Park has been rid of the top predator "WOLF" some years ago. As a result of over grazing by the herbivore, the trees cant grow to replace themseleves. The whole of the eco system got effected by this move to rid of all TOP predator in the area.

But when they finally reintroduce the TOP predator back to the wild, the effect is superb. Cos the wolf hunts and kills the herbovore. As one animal die and rot away, the rest of the insect futther down the food chain got benefitted. Trees can grow freely again.So it really kick start the whole process again.
 
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