Tuesday, July 9th to Thursday, July 11th, 2024 - Critters on the Mungo Trip

 There really is nothing more delightful than the sight of a mob of kangaroos enjoying the same space as oneself......

Not a Mob, But Just A Couple of 'Roos - Mungo Campground

.......like these two sweethearts who started at us long and hard in the long grass at the Mungo campground.

Mother and Her Joey, Aaaw, Cute!

It was a delight to watch mothers and their joeys. In the photo above you can see the joey's head and ears taking a look around. The young ones we saw rarely moved far away from the mother and upon being startled found their way back into her pouch with great speed and apparent ease! They hop in head first and can often be seen with only feet sticking out!

Joey Went in Head First! - See the Little Black Feet Sticking Out!

It seemed the mothers were a little slower about running off with the mob - perhaps the additional weight she carries leads her to think twice about being unnecessarily hasty.

Marsupials That Fly!

When one comes across a mob, they will stand and stare at you from a distance. Startle them, and off they bound with their graceful, balanced stride. (They can be dangerous when cornered - those large hind legs can rip into an enemy and do a great deal of damage!) I think it is a remarkable and beautiful movement to watch. While they are lovely to see from a distance, or at low speeds, kangaroos are a hazard when driving, as they hop across the roads in front of cars. Much like deer in the US, they can cause a great deal of damage in a short time. Kangaroo carcasses on the side of the road were not at all uncommon.

(As a side note, I hate to mention that they have very tasty meat – I had very delicious kangaroo skewers. It is a low fat, healthy, meat. I was a little sad to learn that they are not 'farmed' as such, but are harvested from the wild. I know the animal lovers hate it, but the culling does keep the populations down – their numbers are robust with all the pastureland now available.)

OK, Guys....Shall We go For it!

Emus are the other road hazard. Happily we were going slowly when we saw this mob. Clearly they were hesitant, too. We stopped.........

Birds That Run!

......... and they went for it. As you see, although they don't fly, although the feet of the front two are not touching the ground! We saw just a few emu carcasses - less than kangaroo.

Guinea Fowl at Mungo Lodge

These Guinea Fowl are not native to Australia, nevertheless, Nadine and I were entertained by encounters with them around the lodge. (They are native to South Africa.) We were told they are very good watch dogs and keep away the snakes, which I though was a great idea!

Fluffy Body, Reptilian Face

The fowl were like little grey rocks waddling around the place and sometimes perching on rails. They are related to pheasants and turkeys and have a rather primitive looking face. I read online that the females don't do a good job of looking after their young, so the males pick up a lot of the slack.  

Leetle Bird, Leetle (Brown) Bird!

This little bird was about the size of a large dove and was perched in a tree not far from our cabin. I have no idea what it is, but was pleased to capture this clear of an image.

 (Amelia Island Singers or Man of La Mancha fans will recognize the photo caption!)

Is it An 'Evil Eye', or Just Hungry?

The only other successful camera to bird encounter I had, was with this crow. He was perched on top of the picnic shelter at Vigar's Well on the Mungo loop road, looking intently for any scraps that might come his way, or being sure we got up to no mischief. I'm not sure which! On the other hand, maybe he's the 'crow' from Crows Nest checking in on me! LOL!

Other much more colorful bird life here was abundant, but the time and patience of this photographer was no match for their rapid movement. There were flocks of yellow Sulphur Crested Cockatoos swirling in flocks, along with pink and grey Galahs. Occasionally we spotted brightly colored Lorikeets. We saw them mostly when driving, so I was not successful at capturing photos of them.

So I leave you with just a brief glimpse of the (mostly Australian) critters we encountered on our journey to Mungo Lake. Next time, I'll give you some glimpses of the charming country towns we passed through on our trip.