Kangaroo Education

 

Myths ABOUT KANGAROOS

Myths are stories based on tradition. Can either be fact or fiction. We believe the myths about kangaroos are fiction and support the industries that benefit directly from their removal.

Kangaroos are farmed

Kangaroos are shot in the dead of night, decapitated and then hung on the back of utes.

Kangaroo meat is healthy for our pets –

Numerous independent tests have found that kangaroo meat is contaminated by dangerous bacteria including E. Coli and salmonella.

The Kangaroo population is in plague proportions

Government figures state there are 6000 to 8000 kangaroos on the Mornington Peninsula when actually Citizen Science local residents estimate there  to be 2500 on the Mornington Peninsula.

The Government needs to inflate the kangaroo population so they can justify the continued support of the kangaroo meat industry and the issuing of shooting permits to farmers.

Can a native animal exist for 30,000,000 years in harmony with its habitat and now it’s in plague proportions.

Kangaroos are a dangerous towards humans & their pet dogs

Studies have found that when a person or dog has been harmed by a kangaroo it is usually when the kangaroo has been chased by a dog.

Kangaroos are safe on the Mornington Peninsula

Mornington Peninsula hobby farmers regularly apply for government shooting permits (ATCW permit) to shoot kangaroos on their properties.

Kangaroos are Pests

Kangaroos Versus Livestock:

Kangaroos are blamed for eating crops and competing with livestock by eating all the pasture. Australia grazes 69 million sheep and 27 million cattle.

One cow eats as much as 60 kangaroos and one sheep easts as much as 5 kangaroos. Kangaroos rarely visit crops or compete with livestock except when food is scarce.

Kangaroos are soft-footed, which means they do not damage the environment in the same way as hard-footed animals such as livestock do.

Landowners claim that kangaroos frighten horses & stock animals. Yet there are places around the peninsula where both co-exist harmoniously.

Kangaroos breed like rabbits

Kangaroos have one joey a year.

30% of young joeys do not live to adolescence.

Kangaroos do not breed during drought.

Kangaroos damage fences.

Fences block the kangaroo trails hence damage is the result. This can be avoided in many instances with wildlife friendly fences.

Barb wire is cruel to wildlife and should be removed from the peninsula.

A more recent & alarming problem for the kangaroo is the high fences (kangaroo proof fences) stopping all wildlife, including koalas & kangaroos, being able to move through their native habitats.

Educating people about these myths will result in less high fences on the peninsula

Above myths and further kangaroo information can be found by watching documentary called   ‘Kangaroo: A Love Hate-Story’

Check Kangaroos Alive website www.kangaroosalive.org to find streaming locations.

 

 

-Biology

Taxonomy;

Species – giganteus

Genus – Macropus

Family – Macropodidae

Order – Diprotodontia

Subclass – Marsupialia

Class – Mammalia

Subphylum – Vertebrata

Phylum – Chordata

Kingdom – Animalia

https://australian.museum/learn/animals/mammals/eastern-grey-kangaroo/

Conservation status;

ICNU, National and all states eastern states listed as least concern/secure. Locally on the Mornington peninsula locally endangered although there is no local/ municipal code for an officially recognised standard.

Life span;

The life span of an eastern grey kangaroo that reaches mature age is up to 20 years in the wild, on average though the expectant lifespan of an eastern grey in the wild is 6 to 8 years considerably less due to the high mortality rate of the young from predation, fences (commonly referred to as fence hangers), traffic collisions, joey’s losing parents either through separation or death, urbanisation and hunting (with permits issued by DELWP or illegally) and acts of cruelty.

Reproduction;

They can breed all year but predominantly in spring and have on average one baby per year, which starts to leave the pouch at around 9 months. Joeys will become independent from about 11 to 18 months although females will stay with their mum. Reproductive maturity is at about 20 months.

Diet;

They are graziers so they eat grass and generally young shoots and will eat leaf on rare occasions. While the Mornington Peninsula is about 80% rural most of the indigenous grasslands/meadows and woody grasslands are now gone. There are over 2 dosen species of grasses on the peninsula including different species of wallaby grass, spear grass and poa’s. Kangaroo and weeping grasses are other common species of grass that kangaroos eat.

Behaviours;

Are a family orientated animal that have strong social structures, they are most active at dawn and dusk. They will be seen resting during the day and take cover in the bush or tall bracken in bad weather. They will spend their days in smaller family groups and gather in mobs during dusk and dawn.

Biodiversity functions;

Keeping the grasses short from grazing kangaroos reduce fuel loads. This is a really important function within our landscapes that are now dominated by introduce pasture grasses that brown off over summer as opposed to our native grasses that flower and seed over the same period. This activity also maintains a healthy ground flora which improves biodiversity of both flora and fauna.

Macropods

Remaining species on the peninsula;

• Eastern Grey Kangaroo
• Swamp Wallaby