Kangaroos are Back!

Pre bush fires we always had kangaroos around.
After the fires, nothing.
But now, 2 years later they are back.
They feed at early dawn and late dusk and into the night.
Some have ventured into our yards
From the amount of faeces around, there must be quite a few after dark.
We have two regulars. A largish western grey with her baby (joey).
Despite its size it is sometimes still climbing into its mother’s pouch.

Joey is the name given to all marsupial young, not just kangaroos.
Newborn kangaroo joeys are just 2.5 centimetres long at birth, or about the size of a grape. After birth, joeys travel, unassisted, through their mother’s thick fur to the comfort and safety of the pouch.
A newborn joey can’t suckle or swallow, so the kangaroo mother uses her muscles to pump milk down its throat. 

At around 4 months, the joey emerges from the pouch for short trips and to graze on grass and small shrubs. At 10 months, the joey is mature enough to leave the pouch for good.
It’s nice to see them back despite occasionally causing some fence damage and eating pasture that my cattle could do with.