a kangaroo in our city park

So, we're out early in the morning in Yarra Bend Park, the shadows are long and lovely and Penny's off lead.

Penny freezes. She sees something. What could it be?

Our first reaction is delight. A kangaroo here, right in the suburbs.

Penny begins to run. Towards the kangaroo! Oh no, this is a disaster - either Penny or the kangaroo is going to suffer. Thank Dog for all those sessions rewarding her for a good 'come!' We shout. She heads back for her treat. (We always reward a 'come' in some way, usually with food.)

We'd better ring the wildlife protection people, because on the other side of that chain link fence is a busy freeway, and perhaps the kangaroo could leap that fence. We head off to find one of the many signs in the park with a phone number on it.

And then a black dog races past, intent on catching the kangaroo. The kangaroo and the dog disappear up a hill leading to the busy traffic, and I run off in pursuit while Human Number Two puts Penny on lead. I can't see where the dog and the kangaroo have gone.

By the time we walk down to where the kangaroo has disappeared, the owner of the black dog has run past us and found his dog. We never did find out whether he realised why his dog had taken off like a rocket. He puts the dog on lead and walks away.

Human Number Two is on hold for what seems an inordinate length of time, but learns from the recorded message what she should do if we find an echidna, a flying fox, a wombat, lorikeets, parakeets, wallabies, and, yes, a kangaroo. Finally she passes the message on to a human and we head off, hoping all will be well.

And we tell all the dog-owners we meet to take care. Dogs and kangaroos don't mix. Sometimes the dog suffers, sometimes the kangaroo. The funny thing is that we spend quite a lot of time in the mountains with Penny, but the only time we see kangaroos is in the city. She's never been close to one and for both their sakes, I hope she never is. Here's an old post about dogs and kangaroos.

kangaroos can be dangerous to dogs

A man was injured by a kangaroo recently when he tried to stop it drowning his dog.

It's sad to read about a clash between the two species that we love. An acquaintance once told me a terrible story about her dog and a kangaroo fighting and falling down the bank into a river - both drowned. Ever since then I've been nervous of the idea of Penny meeting a kangaroo. You'd think it's unlikely, but we humans are pushing further and further into the remaining territory the kangaroos have around Melbourne.

There is said to be a mob of kangaroos north of here that has been surrounded by suburban development, so that their range is more and more limited. I have wondered whether the kangaroos that occasionally make their way south to Darebin Parklands might be members of this group.

It's a sad situation.

When I read more details about this incident, I realised the kangaroo had been sleeping before being disturbed by the man and the dog and being chased into the dam by the dog. I've heard that kangaroos will head for water so they can turn on pursuing dogs and drown them.

Another report describes the kangaroo as a 'rogue', but I agree with the discussion after the article, that it's not fair to blame the 'roo, because it was the one being chased.

I hope Penny and I never come across a kangaroo when we're out walking.