The Internet thinks this kangaroo is grieving, but it's actually trying to mate
These images of what appears to be the heartbreak of a kangaroo losing a loved one have captured many people's attention — but it's not as virtuous as it may seem.
Evan Switzer shot these photographs while walking his dog on Monday afternoon on his neighbours' property in Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia. He believed the male kangaroo was grieving the loss of its dead female companion.
Dr Mark Eldridge, the Principal Research Scientist of Terrestrial Vertebrates at the Australian Museum Research Institute, says what people are seeing is not quite grief, it's much more carnal than that.
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In his expert opinion, the male kangaroo is actually attempting to mate with the female. Eldridge, who viewed the photographs sent to him by Mashable Australia, detailed what he believes was really going on.
"The male has really wet forearms, which is what kangaroos do when they are excited or are overheating — they lick their forearms. What it tells me is that the male is very agitated," Eldridge said.
"Also if you look at those pictures, you can see he's got an erection. I suspect, what he's trying to do is to get the female to stand up so he can continue courting," Eldridge said. "Males can be quite aggressive in trying to coerce females into mating."
Switzer told Mashable Australia he noticed the female kangaroo on the ground who wasn't moving, after his dog went towards the group of kangaroos.
"Normally they get up and have a look, but the female was still laying on the ground, she didn't move," Switzer said. "I kept on walking, and that's when the male went back to the female and started lifting her up."
Image: Evan Switzer
"I stopped and started watching, and he tried to stand her up, and lifted her up quite a way — but she fell through his grasp. That's when I thought she was dead."
The group of kangaroos weren't too far away from Switzer's home, so he returned to his home to grab a camera, then returned to watch. "[The male] kept moseying on around, and kept coming back to pick her up."
Switzer isn't entirely sure how the female died, despite checking the kangaroo while the male and its joey hopped away for a few minutes. There were no physical wounds, and its legs were straight so it wasn't hit by a car.
"It was fairly fresh too — the death would've only happened five or so minutes before I was there," Switzer said. The kangaroo was removed from under the tree, then buried under a nearby mango tree by Switzer and a friend.
Image: Evan Switzer
Kangaroos can breed anytime of the year, but the peak season is in summer. It's not been clearly established if kangaroos are capable of grief, with grey kangaroos not being particularly social animals, according to Eldridge.
"Females form social bonds with each other, with individuals they like hanging out with, and they clearly recognise — but male and female bonds aren't really present in a social sense in grey kangaroos," Eldridge said.
"From a male perspective, they'll cruise around in an area that will be vying for the mating rights to female. They don't have those strong pair bonds you see in other species," he said.
"I think people have looked at the [images] from an anthropomorphic point-of-view, and said 'oh look at that, isn't that sweet' — whereas I suspect the male is telling the female to get up."
Not as adorable as you thought, huh.
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