A photo in The Australian has caused great interest in the apparent mourning by a buck kangaroo at the death of his mate.
There is much on social media about it.

The photographer, Evan Switzer, reportedly took the picture on a bushland property at Queensland’s River Heads, 230km north of Brisbane.

“I saw the male pick up the female, he looked like he was just trying to get her up and see what was wrong with her,” Switzer told the Daily Mail.

“He would lift her up and she wouldn’t stand she’d just fall to the ground, he’d nudge her, stand besides her … it was a pretty special thing, he was just mourning the loss of his mate.”

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/dying-kangaroo-photos-are-not-what-they-seem/news-story/9ef181e49fa8a06629642a4706ddb87c

Unfortunately this site doesn't allow for posting photographs or I could post this truly heart rending photo.

The Kangaroo only had one thing in mind and that was to mate with the invail kangaroo.

Dear Is Mise,

Thank You for sharing this with us.

It just goes to show that we humans are not
the only ones with feelings. That we're just another
creature living on this beautiful planet.

What an exceptional moment.

Um, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but zoologists and veterinarians have said the that the male was actually trying to mate with the dying female and was most likely responsible for her fatal injuries. The article linked to in the OP explains this. Apparently male kangaroos can become very violent if their advances are rejected and have been known to kill females that didn’t comply.

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jan/14/photos-grieving-kangaroo-viral-but-scientist-says-sexually-aroused

It's too easy for us to project human emotions onto animals.

Adam Liaw's tweet at the bottom of the article nails it.

Whatever the reason(s) were for the male roo to do what he did, mourn the deceased female, or attempt to have his 'way' with her, I wouldn't know? And I would suggest neither does anybody else?

However, as the proud owners of a Labby (M) and a Kelpie (F) both pure bred, they're capable of imparting many puzzling or peculiar looks, expressions, miens, and behaviours, for which we as humans will never truly comprehend? And in doing so these two dogs manage to convey to us at least, some of those great virtues or rectitude's, that are seemingly absent or slowly disappearing in our society today?

Believe me, I reckon I've seen every kind of human depravity, every act and horror that humans can do to one another. Somehow amongst all of that terrible degeneracy, our animals, either domestic or 'ferae naturae' can teach us much, if only we'd watch and learn.

o sung wu,

I'm pretty sure a senior lecturer in veterinary pathology and a principal scientist of the Australian Museum are going to know what they're talking about without having to actually read the male Kangaroo's mind. From the article I linked to...

"But Dr Derek Spielman, a senior lecturer in veterinary pathology at the University of Sydney, told Guardian Australia that he had “no doubt” that the male was in fact attempting to mate with the female animal – and might have caused the injuries that she died from."

He said the photographs showed the male kangaroo “mate guarding” – holding other males at bay.

...

“Pursuit of these females by males can be persistent and very aggressive to the point where they can kill the female. That is not their intention but that unfortunately can be the result, so interpreting the male’s actions as being based on care for the welfare of the female or the joey is a gross misunderstanding, so much so that the male might have actually caused the death of the female.”

...

The kangaroo’s “sinister” intentions were first flagged in an explosive blog post by Dr Mark Eldridge, the principal scientist of the Australian Museum. He praised Switzer’s “great photos of the kangaroos”, but said they had been “fundamentally misinterpreted”.

“This is a male trying to get a female to stand up so he can mate with her,” he said.

He pointed to the “highly stressed and agitated” state of the male kangaroo, which had been licking its forearms to cool down. Eldridge also pointed to “evidence … sticking out from behind the scrotum” of the kangaroo’s sexual arousal."

The joke is that tree huggers and their ilk have gone all moony over this happening; some people, out of touch with the real world, are attributing to kangaroos emotions that the pea brained 'grass hoppers' cannot possibly possess.
Roos are so intelligent that they haven't yet worked out that it can be fatal to hop in front of a moving motor vehicle.
Just Google "Kangaroo in mourning" for an hilarious update on this, lots of photos and web sites.

Is Mise was the female kangaroos death the result of the actions of another crazed hunter? You say " the pea brained 'grass hoppers' cannot possibly possess. Roos are so intelligent that they haven't yet worked out that it can be fatal to hop in front of a moving motor vehicle."

There are no recorded instances of kangaroo's shooting themselves with there own gun, unlike many in the gun happy brigade. Not knowning which end the bullet comes out of, now shooting yourself with your own gun, that is brainless.

Hunters are so intelligent that they haven't yet worked out that it can be fatal to stick your head down the barrel of a gun and pull the trigger!

Paul,

Thanks for that intelligent contribution, always appreciate your attempts at ??.

Had a little to do with kangaroos where the big bucks rule over several groups of females. The buck will spend his time sniffing out which females are about to come on heat and will hang around until she goes off, then move on to another group, fighting off any challenge as well.

Any person who thinks he has kind feelings toward the female should visit a horse stud and they might just find out what violent animal sex is all about.

Well, what a surprise.

Here we have Paul1405, eyes wide shut, fingers in ears, mouth flapping, spewing bulldust as usual.

Do you actually believe any of your bulldust Paul, or you simply hope there are some even more dumb people, who just might?

Yes Banjo, the urge to breed must be very strong in the mares, most are obviously terrified of the stallion, but most can't resist the urge.

When I was breeding horses, we liked to catch the foal heat, usually within a week of foaling. We could control that mating, & keep the foal safe. If you missed that one, a lactating mare could take anything from a month to 3 months to come into season.

One problem was some could injure themselves trying to get to the stallion, if you didn't see the signs, & lock them up. If they did, an uncontrolled mating often injured the foal, terrified at the goings on.

A legitimate question; Was the kangaroo killed by a crazed hunter or did it die of natural causes.

Due to the remote locations where the commercial kangaroo shoot takes place there is no effective monitoring of animal welfare. No statistics are available for the animals who are wounded and escape, only to endure a long and painful death. The kangaroo industry Code of Practice requires that animals are killed by a single shot to the head, but even conservative estimates suggest that more than 100,000 of the adult kangaroos commercially 'processed' each year are not killed in this manner.

Once again we have a cruel animal industry that continues only because it can operate without public scrutiny. Tonight, while you are sleeping peacefully, out in the Australian bush the peaceful existence of thousands of gentle animals who have harmed no-one will end violently — for the sake of the mighty dollar.

Australia's iconic kangaroos are hunted in the largest commercial slaughter of land-based wildlife on the planet. Almost 90 million kangaroos and wallabies have been laughingly "lawfully" killed for commercial purposes in the last 20 years.

Paul,

Despite all the killing of 'roos for the meat industry there are the thousands that are shot by land owners who are plagued by their unwanted presence on their properties; yet despite all this killing the number of 'roos is increasing.
The 'roo meat industry is sustainable.

The 'Mourning Roo' has gone viral and there must be egg on a lot of faces as it slowly dawns on the tree huggers that buck kangaroos don't share their emotion fueled outlook on life.

Kangaroos are not very intelligent but they do become wary of hunters whereas those other icons of the "let's have a perfect world brigade", the whales and dolphins, don't have enough sense to keep away from ships.

I did a road trip, along the Princess Highway, then to Bombala, Cooma, Canberra.
Up until Bombala there was hardly a dead animal beside the road. From Bombala to Cooma the count on the number of dead Kangaroos, beside the road increased dramatically.

Cooma to Canberra and the toll was horrendous. Within the first 10ks out of Cooma I counted 100 dead roo's.

It is not crazed gunmen that are the biggest threat to roo's, it is the crazed motorists that are the biggest threat to roo's.

ps having a Panel shop in Cooma must be a gold mine ;)

Paul,
You show your ignorance, best you shut up.

You suggest that kangaroo harvesting is done in remote areas so monitoring cannot be carried out. Are you even aware that it is illegal to discharge a firearm in a built up area, not to mention a shortage of kangaroos, generally.

You claim 100000 roos are killed other than by a 'single shot to the head'. I say bull, simply because bullets are expensive, no commercial shooter wastes shots and the 'works' would reject any not shot in the head. Commercial shooters pay big money for precision rifles that are quite capable of such accuracy.

The roo either died of natural causes, maybe DV, or injuries from a vehicle, road kill. Get out of town once in a while and see the amount of road kill on our country roads.

Notice also your use of emotional language to describe a commercial industry.

Wolly B,

"It is not crazed gunmen that are the biggest threat to roo's, it is the crazed motorists that are the biggest threat to roo's."

One of the biggest threats to motorists on our country roads is kangaroos. Pigs, goats, deer seem to have some wariness for motor vehicles, even the usually brainless sheep will run away from a motor but the utterly clueless 'roo will run in front of one.
I've even seen them stand by the side of the line then dash in front of a steam locomotive (no bump or damage noticed!).
Even the lowly rabbit seem to have more intelligence than the 'roo.

I did once see a quoll that had a short life expectancy as it defied my car to keep the road killed possum that it was feeding on, edging the car forward convinced it to move aside.(Gwydir Hwy. on the Eastern slopes of the range).
On the return trip I noted that it was squashed into the remains of the possum. Which was a shame as there aren't all that many quolls and that was the only one that I've seen from a car, have seen quite a few travelling on the push bike but it's fairly silent.

Kangaroos have evolved to be very opportunist in fertility when the rains appear.

There are many thousands of dead and dying roos when the dry comes as it inevitably does.

The number killed on the road, although tragically damaging for motorists, is miniscule compared with what is happening elsewhere and are animals foraging for the tiniest bits of green from dew run-off at night.

Trust Greens (the Protest Party) tragic Paul 1405 to be setting hares loose and spruiking speculative gossip.

Much preferable for the Greens to be throwing mud at others rather than fixing THAT problem, their cozy mates relationship with the CFMEU for political donations.

Do try to grow up a bit Wolly B. Only a fool or an idiot would believe anyone would use a perfectly good car to cull kangaroos. It would be as stupid as green policy to do a couple of thousand dollars worth of damage to a car, when a $2 bullet will do the same job.

If we could just get councils to ignore the greeny ratbags, & go back to clearing the scrub & saplings from the side of roads more roos would survive. These provide hiding places for the damn roos right on the road edge, to hop out into a car's path, unavoidably.

We get a few people each year injured, & occasionally killed, when they try to dodge a roo, & get those greenies saplings now grown into trees instead. We don't use one road to a local town at night, as there are just too many suicidal roos on it.

Hi there PAUL1405...

I tend to agree with you when you assert the ethics of some of our professional 'Roo shooters. I happened upon a couple of these blokes years ago when relieving in the bush. Both hunted 'Roos full time, and only used Scoped .22 'rimfires' to take each animal. Generally speaking their accuracy out to about 100 yards (at dusk over a tank as the animal drank) was impressive.

The odd one or two they failed to dispatch, if it managed to escape, were just left? Those injured near the environs of the tank, were uncontrollably withering and flailing about, a very dangerous plight for anybody approaching a 'roo, even one the size of an adult 'grey'. Were finished off with a pick handle, a poor and inordinately painful ending for the 'roo, and quite perilous for the hunter, had either of those massive rear legs impaled him?

Taking a Statement later, I asked why the .22's? They responded; it was far cheaper than using a centrefire, after all most of the 'cockies' only used .22's when taking a 'roo for their dogs?

Paul, being new to the bush, and the ways of the bush, therefore being wholly ignorant, I realised I had much to learn. And needed to listen, to observe and to think, before I ever 'blundered through' any of the 'conventions of the bush' with city styled policing!

Though a pick handle to kill 'any' animal...well, I'm buggered if I know?

http://www.kangaroo-industry.asn.au/morinfo/BACKGR1.HTM

<Kangaroo Industry Background

John Kelly, B. Ru Sci. (Hons), Kangaroo Industries Association of Australia. July 2008
...
7.3 The ‘evidence’ of cruelty

Radical animal liberationists typically attack the kangaroo industry as ‘cruel and inhumane’, but rarely do they provide any evidence, rather the statement is simply a value judgment made by people who have rarely, if ever, seen a kangaroo outside of a wildlife park. Where ‘evidence’ is presented it invariably misrepresents the studies referred to above. For example it is regularly claimed that, "an RSPCA report demonstrated 15% of kangaroos are not killed cleanly and crawl away to die of their wounds." This is a misrepresentation of the 1984 RSPCA study referred to above. The only place in it where the figure 15% is mentioned in the RSPCA report is stating that at the time,15% were not head shot. The study found that most of these were heart shot and that, whilst less desirable than a head shot, "any placement of a bullet in the chest cavity causes instantaneous death" (RSPCA 1985). As mentioned previously things have improved dramatically since this study and the more recent audit demonstrates head shot rates now above 98%.>

tbc

contd.
<<Other evidence of cruelty often cited is a video of a kangaroo shoot obtained in 1986. This video was taken by a radical animal liberation group who encouraged a unlicensed shooter, who did not have permission to shoot on the property in question to commit gross acts of cruelty to kangaroos whilst they quietly stood by and filmed. The man has since been prosecuted, as probably also would have the animal liberation film crew if they hadn’t left the country. This video is portrayed as representative of the commercial industry, however the shooter was not involved in it in any way involved in the commercial industry. In the court case in which he was prosecuted it was revealed that he was actively encouraged to commit his illegal actions by the film crew. They told him they were from an American game shooting magazine. The final hearing of the case in which penalties were handed down was in Dubbo District Court 31 July 1997 NSW NP&WS v Eichner.>

G'day ONTHEBEACH...

I suppose this is an instance if the cap fits wear it perhaps? I accept that we 'city slickers' have much to learn about the ways of the bush and how hard it is for rural producers to earn a quid, given the persistent hardships they continually need to confront?

Niceties that we of the city tend to observe are not part of rural life including the management of vermin, feral infestation, by rabbits, pigs, foxes,'roo's and to a lesser extent; camels, brumbies and up in the gulf country, cape buffalo etc. All competing for precious feed and water, as well as causing massive destruction of fences and crops.

It's no wonder the cockies have so little patience for these greenies, and other habitual nuisance groups, all hiding under the mantle of serious conservationists. Furthermore legitimate functionaries like the RSPCA, even they've tried the patience of many Rural Producers with their rigid insistence of strict adherence to the law, in terms of animal management and cruelty.

The coppers can and do inhibit farmers with their lack of flexibility and a fundamental working knowledge of the land. Sure in NSW we have the Stock Squad but generally speaking they only deal with contemporary rustling (larceny) of livestock. Rather than giving their attention to other more immediate problems like vandalism; of rural fences, stock itself, property and structures. These offences alone, causes considerable cost and grief, for today's farmers.

If we could strike a balance that suits all stake holders. One that most certainly accommodates the man on the land.

One thing is for sure, without our Rural Producers, this great Nation of ours is stuffed, therefore we must protect, shield and tolerate, the needs, and the requirements of our primary producers. Failure to do so, may prove catastrophic, in the long term.

o sung wu,

Your mention of the stock squad brings back some memories.
I used to hunt with a couple of blokes from the squad, now sadly passed on.
They had some tales to tell about the bush and some of the characters that they came across.
I also used to hunt on a property in the upper reaches of the Burragorang Valley and I asked them if they knew the owner.
They knew him well and rated him as the smartest bushman in NSW.
I said "Smarter than you blokes?"
The answer was profanely positive and they told me that on one occasion they knew that he'd stolen a mob of sheep and planned to sell them at Oberon.
They had two men on every known track into his part of the valley and were sure that they finally had him.
The operation was called off when they heard that he'd sold the mob in Oberon.
This was 60 odd years ago and things are much more hi-tech these days so I doubt that the feat could be repeated.
Back then, as well, there were stock squad members who were well under the height requirements for the police, which helped to let them move around without suspicion.

o sung wu,

In posting in response to your story I was supporting the point you were making. Which I took as being that laws do not prevent the feral intent on offending and we shouldn't judge everyone else by his offence.

If anyone was spotted shooting larger animals with a .22 he would be certain of being reported to police by any farmers and any licensed shooter. The legal, legitimate folk give them no leeway at all.

However Paul1405 has hijacked this thread long enough and it would respectful of me to leave it there so discussion can return to the original post.

Hi o sung wu, a little disappointed you lumped Kangaroo's, who incidentally can trace their ancestry back 40 million years on this continent, in with vermin and feral animals introduced by Europeans over the last 228 years. I'm sure it was just an error on your part. As we know kangaroos's are not feral, and I don't consider them to be vermin in the class of rats etc, far from it, a rather noble creature, which incidentally features on our coat of arms.
I do appreciate the way you understand that the slaughter of, be it humans or animals, always involves a degree of credulity, not understood by some on this forum.

Hi Is Mise, given your detestable attitude towards kangaroos, can I ask, do you think they are Muslims? Beach will be along soon to tell us they are in fact feminine, fabian, fruits, not worthy to coexists on the same planet with you and him, and the rest of the good ol' boys.

Hi Banjo, you have shown your ignorance 3252 times on the forum so far. Why should you be given a monopoly on showing ignorance? Most unfair.

Hi (again) ONTHEBEACH...

I absolutely agree with your second paragraph OTB; Hunting larger game, must surely be with a F/A, and a calibre together with a sighting system that's appropriate to that particular species. Furthermore the F/A's calibre must be capable of reaching those ranges (distances) that will ensure a clean, fatal shot. Anything less, could be determined both as inappropriate, bordering on 'culpable cruelty' (to my knowledge no such citation exists)?

Hi there PAUL1405...

Sorry, of course our Kangaroo is not feral, and as you've said, they've been around for squillions of years. I've always been a great fan of our noble, iconic 'Roo, myself, and could never bring myself to shoot one. Still as a city bloke I probably don't appreciate the level of damage they do in rural settings.

Incidentally, I've struck two 'roos in separate road accidents, one the other side of Moree, and the other on the New England Hwy just before reaching Tamworth. Fortunately (actually, unfortunately as it happened) both in police vehicles. I was tapping the Olivetti until my fingers were a mere half inch long, such was the bloody paperwork demanded by the Inspector! A heap of damage to both Vehicles. And the two 'roos, regrettable deceased.

For some weird reason, the boss reckons the second accident I had, I was clearly in the wrong, asserting my excessive speed was a contributory factor? What was the silly ol' bastard going to do, take a statement from the deceased 'roo?

'evening to you IS MISE...

You couldn't just turn-up and say you wished to join the Squad. As you rightly say, most of them were bushies first and coppers second. They could blend in at a bloodstock sale as well as any cocky. They could walk the walk and talk the talk, and understood some of the finer points of good breeding cattle, and sheep.

From my limited exposure with them, branding or marking was the go in those days, most 'tea leaves' were very adapt at altering 'branding', in fact one of their arrests was the bloke that 'fixed up' 'Fine Cotton' the disguised flat racer! You may recall the scandal associated with Fine Cotton? Apparently one of the heavies involved was going to have this bloke shot for lagging, some of the other players involved in Fine Cotton? Anyway it was none of my concern, I was only the relieving sergeant doing normal GD work.

Must admit I liked doing relief work as it was a way of determining whether a posting to the bush was an option - sort of 'try before you buy' thingo? My wife wasn't too sure, being a city girl and all?

Had quite a bit to do with blacks, and learned a lot from them, which gave me a great deal of insight into their culture and behaviour. Many of them have had it really tough, with no assistance from anybody in the towns where I was relieving. As a consequence, I've maintained an enormous respect for our indigenous blacks, ever since I started doing my country stints. Their biggest and worst problems, are but two? Alcohol & Drugs, & perhaps Alcohol again! The scourge of our indigenous folk!

Paul,

"....a rather noble creature, which incidentally features on our coat of arms"

You really must do some research before you put digit to key; there are no kangaroos on our Coat of Arms, the creatures on the Arms are two lions, a piping shrike and a black swan.

I've got two lions rampant, argent, supporting a Red Hand, couped at the wrist, on my coat of arms above a black eight oared boat.

Regarding 'roos, I rather like them, especially the legs, left to tenderize for a few days (depending on the weather), slashed to the bone about every inch and a half, left in a red wine and Worcestershire sauce marinade overnight then into a moderate oven for a few hours.

Better than venison, emu or swan any day.

//You really must do some research before you put digit to key; there are no kangaroos on our Coat of Arms, the creatures on the Arms are two lions, a piping shrike and a black swan.//

Pedant.

The arms are supported by a kangaroo and an emu.

Interestingly, the creature representing S.A. - the 'Australian Piping Shrike' - doesn't exist.

o sung wu,

There is an agreed Standard for roo slaughter and it is detailed in the link I provided earlier. There are no 'ifs' or 'buts' where not doing it right and legally is concerned and it is very well policed with cooperation by farmers and R Licence hunters.

Some of the fervent s_ stirring multicults here could take a look at ritual slaughter, where no-one is happy with what is going on, particularly the continued slaughter on non-stunned sheep in small works and by individual ethnic butchers and individuals.

They should re-consider too, their support of very cruel slaughter and live game storage techniques by Aborigines.

Paul1405, a typical 'Protest Party' Green, is tops at diverting threads. The Greens are great at throwing mud, but they are never held accountable themselves - a total lack of principles and ethics.

Toni,

Yes, pedantry is one of my habits as is accuracy.

The piping shrike is indeed illusive, possibly the origin of "Crow Eaters" for South Australians.

Hi Is Mise,

From official government you know what;

Symbols of Australia's six states appear together on the shield, which is the central feature of a COAT OF ARMS. The border of the shield symbolises federation. The KANGAROO and emu are the native animals that hold the shield with pride.Jun 29, 2015.

How are we going to EDUMACATE YOU! Are you starting school this year or next. You will enjoy kindy, I enjoyed it so much they let me repeat it 8 years in a row, before I graduated, but that's another john dory! You are possibly confusing Australia's coat of arms with the intro you watched for so many MGM movie (see link below), or was it in the good old days when you worked at the circus as Coco The Clown, you might have walked past the lions cage and thought it was the Aussie coat of arms. No matter, I have straitened you out once more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhNMHcRSNdo

From 'The Age' September 2015.

'Spot' the kangaroo survives 9 days with crossbow arrow through his head.

Wildlife Victoria spokeswoman Amy Amato said it was hoped he could be released back into the wild within six weeks. "But he's not out of the woods yet," she said.
Resident Mr Smith said he called police on August 12 to report seeing two men dressed in camouflage and carrying crossbows on his Ashbourne property. When police attended the property, Mr Smith said the men had claimed to be "target shooting".

He said what had happened to Spot was "very distressing" for the local community.
"It makes me angry - such recklessness, irresponsibility and disregard for wildlife and people's property," he said.

Brothers James and Robert Calleja, both of Sunbury, were charged with trespass and animal cruelty offences after allegedly shooting Spot in the head with a cross bow on private property in the Macedon Ranges in Victoria in August 2015.

These grubs deserve jail time!

p/s They failed to front court on the due date, a warrent was issued for their arrest

//Symbols of Australia's six states appear together on the shield, which is the central feature of a COAT OF ARMS. The border of the shield symbolises federation.//

No, the shield is the central feature of a heraldic achievement.

From wikipedia:

"A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on an escutcheon (i.e. shield), surcoat, or tabard. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement which consists of shield, supporters, crest, and motto."

"An achievement comprises not only the armorials themselves displayed on the Escutcheon, the central element, but also the following elements surrounding it:..."

"Sometimes the term coat of arms is used to refer to the full achievement, but this usage is wrong in a strict sense of heraldic terminology."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achievement_(heraldry)

Some nerds really love their heraldry, and in this case I believe wikipedia to be a more reliable source than some drongo who's probably never even heard of the SCA.

Hi Toni, are we now talking about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table?

Is Mise will you please comment on the actions of the KKK (the Kangaroo Killing Klowns) in the above story. I am most interest on your spin on the whole sorry and cruel episode. Before Beach hijacks the thread again and bags The Greens etc as he does on all threads.

p/s Do you still have that cookbook of yours 'Road Kill Recipes for the Bad Shot' I might have the name wrong, but you did post it once or twice. How are sales

A mate of mine, now gone, had a 60,000 acre property out from Walgett. He reckoned he used to run about 5000 head of sheep, & 60,000 roos.

In hard times he could flog off some sheep, & send most of the nucleus of his breeding herd off to adjustment. However he could not do much about the roos.

He reckoned shooting them at any time was a waste of money, as unless the whole district did it simultaneously, he simply got more from his neighbours.

In drought he said it was the roos that did most damage as they could survive a long time, destroying whatever grass was left. He would shut down his bores & bore drains, but it could take 6 months for the herds to die off. Not nice to watch he reckoned.

He did say it was amazing how quickly the country would come back after a disastrous drought, when most roos died out, compared to a simply bad one, where a moderate percentage of the herd survived to attack any green shoots.

Incidentally my flock is up to about 20 right now, about 1 per acre, although I'm not sure they are faithful to me. I think they do visit neighbours the jezabels.

If Paul would like some, I could do without them.

Hasbeen, my grandfather was a sheep (wool) farmer all his life in the central west of NSW. I spent plenty of time there so I know something about sheep. One of the greatest problems in Australia, has been farming on marginal land, overstocking in good seasons, followed by many years of drought. your friend from Walgett could have been such a case.

//Hi Toni, are we now talking about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table?//

Not really, no. Although it would be more interesting than talking about dead roos. Once you've seen one, you've pretty much seen them all.

But lots of organisations have coats of arms. Most universities, for example. I like the crest of the Royal Society: in a dexter corner of a shield argent our three Lions of England, and for crest a helm adorned with a crown studded with florets, surmounted by an eagle of proper colour holding in one foot a shield charged with our lions: supporters two white hounds gorged with crowns, with the motto of "nullius in verba".

As another Royal Society, it would not surprise me to learn that the RSPCA have a heraldic crest of their own. It's unlikely that the Greens do, but they're missing out: heraldry looks cool, and when it's done right it says a lot about the organisation it stands for.

If I was designing a crest for the Greens it would consist of a shield parted per bend sinister, vert and argent, with a bend sinister gules, or, vert, azure and purpure, a whale, argent, naiant on the vert field and tree vert on the argent field: supporters: a unicorn and a sea-horse.

Paul,

By now you know that the 'roo and emu are mere Supporters of the Coat of Arms; and I seriously suggest that you install 'Spell Check'!!

Those characters that shot the 'roo with a crossbow deserve everything that the law can throw at them, but is it any less cruel than fishermen who nail an octopus to a thwart to stop it from crawling around, and then cut bits off of it for bait whilst still alive?

Or the hunting practices of some Indiginous Australians which the Greens support (probably, to be charitable, in ignorance).

Anyone that wears cammo in the bush has to be a shingle short as animals react to movement not colour.
Waving any rag at a bull will attract his attention.

Hi Is Mise, don't worry about the spell checker, if I wanted one I wouldn't use yours. LOL

Now back to that book of yours, what's its name? 'Road Kill Recipes for the Bad Shot' What could you knock up from a week old road kill roo to feed a couple of unsuccessful galah's shooters, sitting around the camp fire.

Hi Toni, I read your post, ah...yes, quite so, um yes, ummmm okay, if you say so. Now how about King Arthur and the Knights of the round table, or any shaped table for that matter. How about those fellas got a coat of arms for them?

Paul,

"... unsuccessful galah's shooters,"

Didn't know that galahs had shooters; 'Spell Check' is available from
http://www.spellcheck.net/ among others.

Paul I guess you do read a bit of others posts, before running off at the keyboard.

It is a pity you never bother to read them well enough to understand what others have written.

If you did, you may not make such a bleeding fool of yourself.

//Now how about King Arthur and the Knights of the round table, or any shaped table for that matter. How about those fellas got a coat of arms for them?//

Pretty sure that's already been covered by the people who made King Arthur stories. The only one I can remember off the top of my head is Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-As-Sir-Lancelot, whose coat of arms features a chicken. But you can look the others up for yourself. Here's a website that might help:

http://bfy.tw/3u6F

Is Mise we have a couple of your galah shooters in the NSW parliament. You remember them, from The Shooters and Hooters Party, there is Tweedledum Bob and Tweedleevendumer Bob.

Hassy good to hear from ya, just an observation, lots of marginal land around Walgett for sheep farming. Over millions of years, kangaroos have been able to adapt to the harsh Australian environment and survive. Domesticated sheep had their origins about 10,000 years ago in what is now the Middle East. Without a great deal of human intervention sheep would not survive in most parts of Australia.Sheep failing in Australia during drought is not the fault of kangaroos, its the fault of man.

Spot on Paul, I just knew that you would see the logic in farming kangaroos.

Must be a bit of a shame though that the poor 'roo mooning over his dead mate turned out to be just another marsupial male bent on a bit of necroophillia (sic).
Cane toads have been known to do the same thing to road squashed females of their species.
The capacity for 'tree huggers' and others of that ilk to fantasize human attributes to dumb animals never ceases to amaze.

"Yet each man kills the thing he loves,” wrote Oscar Wilde. “By each let this be heard, Some do it with a bitter look, Some with a flattering word.” And the kangaroo, unfortunately, does it while trying to have sex."
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jan/15/kangaroo-love-movie-disney-cate-blanchett-geoffrey-rush

//Spot on Paul, I just knew that you would see the logic in farming kangaroos.//

As nice as the idea sounds, kangaroos are notoriously difficult to farm (for a start, can you imagine how much it would cost to build a fence they can't just jump) and it's not economically competitive against commercial hunting. Surely this should make the Greens happy: kangaroos get to lead happy, natural, free-range existences until they are quickly and humanely dispatched with a shot to the head.

Is Mise, you would like my oldest son, got an unrestricted gun licence for when he was working in the bush. Told a story about some galah up Braidwood way, tried to farm emu's. Seems the ass fell out of the emu market and the galah opened the gates one day and let the emu's go. They become a pest around the area.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-08/pimpinio-emu-farmers-recall-25-years-of-faith-and-forbearance/7009582

Oaul1405, "my oldest son, got an unrestricted gun licence"

You are clueless on the firearms regulations, aren't you? LOL

That should be Paul1405 - the mate of Lee Rhiannon (Brown). The NSW 'Watermelon' faction of the Greens and serial nuisance to Greens leadership.

BTW, the ex-leader of the Greens who was for a while playing make believe pirate on the high seas has been arrested by police.

Good on those fine upstanding members of the police force for your fitting contribution to Australia Day - the Green in gaol who would without thought have given Australia away to the populous countries of the world to house their teeming millions and all because they do not educate women or allow them birth control.

Paul,

What is an unrestricted gun licence?

I'd find it handy to have one as my current licence has many restrictions, some laudable but others are downright stupid and seem to have no logic behind them.

Is Mise, I have never had inclination to hold a gun licence myself. I will bow to your superior knowledge on the subject of classes. From my son I understand he has some sort of licence to be able to shoot feral animals on the property and so on. I also understand there are other forms of licences which have greater restriction, like on able to shoot targets or own antique guns. As i said you would have far more knowledge than me.
p/s I appreciate your response re two galah's with crossbow.