That was an encounter I don’t want to repeat.
I just got attacked by kangaroos. 6 females, 2 with visibly full pouches, and a big male.
All because I wanted to wash my dishes.
To set the scene – I’m in Mungo National Park. It’s hot, and it’s dry. And the kangaroos are thirsty. I was wary when I went to get some water. I felt guilty about using even a little bit of water to do something like wash dishes when the roos didn’t have enough to drink.
So I was on the lookout. Things seemed ok, but when I turned the tap on they descended. Kangaroos I didn’t know were there magically appeared, and wanted to drink. They grabbed and held on to the bucket when I tried to move it away (as an aside, have you even noticed that kangaroos claws look like 5 fingers?), and when I tried to turn the tap off they pushed me away.
Now, you do not argue with kangaroos. They might look cute and cuddly, but if they want to they can disembowel you with a kick. So I wasn’t going to argue. I managed to turn the tap off, but there was no way I was going to fight them for the bucket.
I beat a strategic retreat and waited until they finished.
They squabbled over every drop. So much so that the bucket got knocked over and the water spilled. The littlest kangaroo got cuffed by the male for that!
But even when the water was gone, the male wasn’t finished. He growled at me and pointed to the tap with his nose, as if to say he wants it turned back on again.
And he was standing over the bucket so I couldn’t get near it.
It’s a dilemma. There are a lot of kangaroos in this park, and they are all thirsty. My first instinct is to get them some water, but I know you don’t feed wild animals. They can become very aggressive if you don’t do it again, or the next person to camp there doesn’t do it. Or if some animals miss out.
I have upwards of 6 roos hanging around my campsite at all times. At one stage there were 15. Next to where I sit, beside my swag, under the car, one has even tried to get into the car. They’re actually quite friendly and will come very close to me. One roo stood right next to my chair while her joey stuck his nose in her pouch and suckled for about ten minutes. So I don’t want to upset them and make them aggressive.
So I can’t give them anything. That expectation of food (or water) is why animals attack people.
And it’s why there are signs everywhere that say “Do not feed the animals”.
Anyway, I finally got my bucket back. Sans water. And now I still have dirty dishes. I think they can stay that way until my next stop.
