01x06 - Kangaroo Kaos

[bunniefuu]

Few sights are as

mind-boggling as the kangaroo.

Sometimes, strangely human.

Sometimes, unlike anything on Earth.

Born the size of a peanut,

growing up in a pouch,

the roo emerges, inelegant and gangly,

to become one of the most graceful,

powerful,

and successful of animals.

There are so many of them

on the roads,

in the fields, in backyards,

and at times even attacking people,

that some think Australia's national icon

is actually the national menace.

Now, a seaside golf course

has become a laboratory

for kangaroo baby-making.

It provides us with an intimate glimpse

into what lies behind the

animal's population expl*si*n

in the land down under.

In the dream time, they say,

the first kangaroo went around

on four legs like a dog.

Then, one day,

he saw people dancing,

and was so amazed,

he stood up.

And was forever after fated

to live his amazing, upright life.

Massive, chiseled and driven to dominate,

the kangaroo has slugged, kicked,

and hopped its way to dominate

some of the toughest terrain in the world.

Roughly 60 million kangaroos

live in Australia,

outnumbering people

at more than two to one.

When we think of kangaroos,

the famed big red often comes to mind,

standing nearly seven feet tall,

living in the dry, dusty Outback.

But the roos and their marsupial cousins

are actually everywhere.

Some live on cliffs.

Others in trees.

The smallest roos live in burrows.

And then, on the southeastern

coast of Australia,

in the state of Victoria,

some very special kangaroos

aspire to live a more luxurious life.

Welcome to Anglesea Country Club,

where life for the eastern gray

kangaroo is simply heavenly.

Perfectly manicured fields for grazing,

life without predators,

and little to disturb them,

aside from the occasional

incoming golf ball.

The roo is the king of the course

with little care to anything around it.

But life among humans

isn't always a picnic.

With 60 million roos in the country,

they're spilling out into roads and yards,

and running into trouble with people.

That's why Anglesea Country Club

has instituted a dress code,

specifically for roos.

Color-coded ear tags

and over-sized name tags

keep tabs on the roos,

examining how they've multiplied so fast

and how they can be controlled.

This is for the safety of the animals

as well as the people around them.

So roos like Jinx, Fergi and Noah,

are giving us a glimpse into

the secret lives of urban kangaroos.

Both the good

and the bad.

A lone joey,

too young to be out of the pouch,

is spotted on the golf course.

His mother is nowhere in sight.

Good afternoon, wild life rescue.

That's where the roo whisperer comes in.

David Burrell, of Leopold Wildlife Rescue,

gets the call from his wife, Helen.

The two of them have been

rescuing kangaroos in distress

for over 20 years.

Wild life rescue.

Yeah, hi.

I have to send you to Anglesea.

They've got a little pinky joey

on the golf course all on his own.

Is there anybody down there

waiting with the animal or ?

- No.

- No.

The quicker you can get down there

before it gets too cold.

He's got no fur, this little one.

He's not gonna survive

for very long at all being on his own.

Cold last night; we were

down to three degrees,

but if we get down there before dark,

we could beat the foxes to him.

First, he has to find the little thing.

You're in here somewhere.

Mum would have turfed him.

He could have rolled under.

This is the sort of shrub--

The branches come up,

but it's quite easy

for them to roll under here.

Ah, there you are, you little fella.

Come on, come to me.

Up we get. That's a boy. Good man.

Come on, pop you up my shirt.

This seven-month-old joey

is far too young

to survive on his own.

His fur, like peach fuzz,

has just started to grow.

Good man.

David coaxes him

into a substitute pouch

and bundles him into the truck.

It's time to take him home,

where the little guy may have

a fighting chance to survive.

And this is home,

where orphaned kangaroos

rule the roost.

Oh, good boy, Bye-bye.

And find a substitute mom

in the form of Helen Burrell.

He's on four-hour liquid foods.

Spent many

a sleepless night with this one.

We didn't think she was gonna make it.

No, well hopefully

Helen and David

have made their home

a haven for Australia's

orphaned and injured wildlife.

Oh, he's clucking.

A cloth pouch, held at the right height,

proves irresistible.

Well, we picked the national parks.

As does a bottle of baby formula.

Okay, Beau, it's time to stand up

now you've had your drink.

Oh, good boy. He's off.

The little joey, Beau,

is just sucking up every

bit of comfort and care.

But he's still not quite ready

to be off on his own.

He shouldn't have

been out of the pouch.

It was freezing cold.

He would have died had

we not got the call.

We have to be aware also

that he may be sick.

It may be something we can't visually see.

Sometimes if a mum knows

there's something wrong with their baby,

they'll throw it and start again.

Beau is one lucky guy.

Kangaroos face few natural predators.

But a lone joey equals

fast food for a hungry fox.

And in the more remote areas of Australia,

he would have had to contend with

the most infamous

kangaroo k*ller of them all

the dingo.

Probably more closely related

to dogs than wolves,

dingoes still lead a wolf-like lifestyle,

stalking their prey,

and trying to remain undetected.

But they're up against the

roo's incredible hearing,

and ears that can scan

360 degrees around them.

It's hard for even a dingo

to go undetected.

And his cover is blown.

Without hesitating, the roo hightails it.

The chase is a biological

match-up to marvel at.

The hop

versus the run.

Both animals have similar top speeds,

35 miles per hour,

but how they reach those

speeds is completely different.

The hop is a strange,

but surprisingly efficient

form of transport.

As the roo picks up speed,

the energy it uses barely increases

until it reaches a cruising speed

of about 20 miles per hour.

The canines, however,

have to use more and more energy

the faster they go.

The kangaroo's secret lies

in its mind-boggling anatomy.

Their leg muscles are extremely powerful,

but it's the network of tendons

that stretch down its legs

that propel the animals so efficiently.

Their legs are basically giant springs,

stretching when the roo's feet

hit the ground,

and snapping back as it launches,

making the most of the

elastic energy in the tendons.

End result?

A leap that can stretch over 30 feet.

If the canines don't catch

the kangaroo swiftly,

there's no chance of success.

They know this,

and quickly give up the chase.

In many regions, the gray and red big roos

have simply become too successful

and for some, are crossing the line

from abundance to menace.

Thousands of roos die

on the highways each year,

and accidents take human lives, too.

When scared,

their lethal claws and powerful limbs

can deliver devastating blows.

And then,

there are the troublesome bachelors.

Across the continent,

splinter groups of rebel males

wander off from their main mob in winter.

They're swinging singles.

But come spring, they'll return

to make their move on the ladies.

Australia's love-hate relationship

with their marsupials

is nowhere more apparent than

when it comes to the g*ng.

Meet the boys:

a group of juvenile males

from the golf club mobs.

They're the rebels

who have ditched the club clique

to roam the town,

invading backyards,

junkyards,

and streets.

For this band of brothers,

an award-winning garden

is just another salad bar.

Pete is known as a

mellow man about town.

His buddy, Sav, is more of a bully.

The brawn to Pete's brains.

Amos, an arrogant bruiser,

simply tolerates their company.

After a winter of roaming the town,

Pete and his posse are pondering

a return to the golf club.

The Anglesea Golf Course is turning lush

with food once again.

And even more important, it's mating time.

Kangaroos are baby-making machines.

A pregnant female can keep another embryo

on hold inside of her,

nurse a tiny joey the size of a peanut

with high fat milk,

and also nurse a big joey

with a completely

different type of milk

all at the same time.

Some kangaroos can be

perpetually pregnant.

The kangaroo's reproductive success

has helped their populations

explode in the wild.

They multiply freely and help themselves

to any and all appealing grazing lands.

With the ability to leap

up to six feet in the air,

sometimes higher,

there's little to stop them

from feasting on farms and ranches.

Desperate landowners

sometimes trap and sh**t them,

even though professional culling

is against the law in these parts.

But there are still plenty of other things

that can bring a kangaroo down.

And right now, there's a doe

in deep trouble on this ranch.

Ellie, come on, come on, come on.

Rancher Alan Roberts

is a lot more open-minded than most

when it comes to having

kangaroos on his land.

They compete with his livestock for food,

but he figures there's

plenty to go around.

We do have a lot of roos on the property,

and they do a bit of damage

to the fences and so forth,

but it is nice to see them around.

On his rounds,

he's noticed that a doe

has something wrong with her eye.

Time to call in the roo whisperer.

The Burrells appreciate that Roberts

looks after his kangaroos

instead of harassing them.

- David. How are you?

- Hi, David.

- Pleased to meet you.

- Please to meet you.

- My wife Helen.

- Hi, Helen.

- Hi.

- Good to see you. Yeah.

You've got an

injured roo on the property?

Yeah, she's been

hanging round the house for a few days.

Grown quite fond of her and that,

but, uh, she's got a terrible eye.

It's weeping badly, yeah.

David, the whisperer,

will be the one to approach

the spooked female.

The first thing we ask ourselves,

does this animal need rescuing?

Second question, can I do it safely

without damaging myself or the animal?

I mean, we're dealing with large animals

that would have no

problem in k*lling a human

if they were in an aggressive mood.

That's a girl, good girl.

That's a girl.

- That's a girl, shake hands.

- Oddly enough,

roos can't hop backwards.

Good girl. There we go.

So when the scared roo swats at David,

David knows to grab her hands,

so she won't be able to rear up

on her tail and kick him.

Good girl. Up we come.

Good girl. Nice and calm, mate.

It's a tricky technique,

but quick and effective.

Not a bad weight.

We'll get her up here

and we'll lay her down

and get a look at that eye

and see what we can do to

to help her out.

The eye's gone.

It's still there, but it can't be saved.

So

We'll, uh

We'll have to have that eye removed.

No reason why she can't

survive just fine with one eye.

Oh, darling. It's okay.

They bundle her into a bag

for the return to their haven

for lost and damaged roos.

Doctor there.

We have her.

Good girl.

You did the right thing calling for help.

She couldn't defend herself

or get away from a fox

- or a couple of wild dogs.

- Nah.

She would have been struggling.

Yeah.

Good job, Hel.

Aerial population counts put kangaroos

in the tens of millions

here in Eastern Australia.

In Western Australia,

where gray kangaroos

number over a million,

culling is big business.

Here, roos love snacking

on farmer's crops,

which causes plenty of problems.

Sometimes, kangaroos can

prove to be too much trouble

for farmers and ranchers.

When they've run out of options,

they call in Jason Rutter,

Vice President of the Professional

Shooters Association

of Western Australia.

He has been dispatching

kangaroos commercially for 11 years.

Yeah,

just from prior experience, I'd imagine

you'd probably have an excess of about

80 to 100 roos on this particular area.

Jason is on his way

to meet a farmer named Dean Sinclair.

Uh, Jason, you know,

we seem to be getting more and more roos

at, uh, this time of year.

He grows barley, but these days,

his barley is simply a free feast

for the western grays.

Hey, good day, Dean.

How are you, mate?

Hey, Jason.

- Good to meet you, mate.

- Good to meet you, too.

When the men survey the fields,

the damage done by kangaroos is shocking.

I see you've got a lot of damage here.

In a paddock like this,

this should be a 3,000 kilo crop.

A three ton crop.

If I get 100 kilos off this paddock here,

I'll be doing very well.

Basically, it's just a waste

of time even cropping it.

They're a marvelous animal,

but there's too many of them.

While professional cullers

like Jason Rutter

work to diminish roo populations,

the Burrells are busy

doing the exact opposite.

They were able to save

the doe's eye after all.

And she is living large.

She's recovered well from

the initial injury to the eye.

So from that side of it, she's doing well.

It's hard to believe

that something that size

is enough to take down a kangaroo.

Now comes the most satisfying,

but heart-wrenching part

of David and Helen's work.

It's time for their doe to hop the nest.

David brings his precious cargo

back to the ranch where she was rescued.

Oh, that's a girl.

Yes, mate, come on.

Back on familiar terrain,

among her native mob,

her chances are good,

and her stint in roo rehab

will soon be a distant memory.

Settle, settle.

Yes, I know you can smell

all the familiar smells, can't you?

You have been an absolute pleasure

to look after, young lady.

There you go.

Hang on, hang on.

Let's have a quick look at you.

Come here, come here.

Good girl.

Good girl. All right.

Good girl.

It's a bittersweet moment,

but one the Burrells live for.

Well done, madam.

Well done. And that's what it's all about.

Capture them, rehabilitate them,

and the payoff,

without a shadow of a doubt,

is getting these guys back into the wild

where they belong.

Little Beau, though,

will still be hanging around

for a while longer.

He's growing fast, though.

From a scrawny, hairless,

and hapless orphan

to a confident, bossy roo.

Good boy, Beau.

Is this one yours?

Oh, good boy. Let's have some bottle.

Beau's been with us

a couple of months now.

And I believe he's doing very well.

He's very very alpha.

He likes to boss up the others,

and he's the smallest.

So, very brave for a little kangaroo.

But soon he'll return

to the Anglesea Country Club

where he was found.

Where, who knows?

Perhaps he'll take the fairways by storm.

Right now, though, his older cousins

in the roo rebel g*ng

have returned home to the greens

Watching

waiting

and ready to unleash a

season of kangaroo chaos.

The invasion has begun.

It's mating season,

and young males are

hopping out of backyards

and across suburban streets.

Big Sav sizes up the situation.

Amos does, too,

while sizing up Sav at the same time.

Finally, the g*ng spills onto the fairways

to attempt to woo the women.

Lean, hulking, and muscular,

Sav and Amos primp and flex

and show off their assets.

Amos is chasing anything with a pouch.

Sav is just learning

the ways of seduction.

And Noah's nerves are pretty obvious.

Kickboxing matches break out everywhere.

Across the entire green,

it's a showdown to win over females.

Amos ends up taking the back nine.

Sav grabs ownership of the front nine.

And all over Australia,

spring brings a frenzy of roo activity

and soon, another batch of joeys.

How they became the

biological marvels they are

is still a mystery.

But the results are clear.

They've slugged, kicked,

and hopped their way

to dominate some of the

toughest terrain in the world.

These are the roos.

From their reproductive success,

to their power and speed,

they truly are

awesome animals of the land down under.

♪♪