AUSSIE FAUNA

Hello Folks
I've been away for a few days visiting Mum and Dad in the Retirement Home and also my brother and a couple of other relatives.
They were very much amused by my Valentine's Day e-card too .
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The night before I left we had dinner at a friend's house and on the way home one of these jumped out of the bush onto the road in front of the car.

This is a wallaby.

Or maybe it was one of these....

Actually it looked more like this......

...... but without the joey.

This is a grey kangaroo.

They are bigger than wallabies (wallabies have little, pretty heads too ) so what we saw was either a young grey kangaroo or a wallaby but there was no sign of a joey and after the terrific rainy season we've had most would have joeys about this size by now. 

So my verdict is ... young kangaroo.

Hitting a kangaroo / wallaby with your car at night is one of the dangers of driving through the countryside in many parts of Australia and drivers have to be alert at all times as they just rocket out in front of your car without warning ... a lose / lose situation !!!

Luckily we were able to avoid it and it went on its way off among the trees. I was happy to see it as we don't see many around where we live - too many people now and most of the larger acreage blocks have resident dogs ( around the houses  anyway ).

It's nice to know that they are there.... not far away.... and every now and then you are lucky to catch a glimpse of these lovely creatures.

:::

Now here's a snippet of trivia for you:

Despite having a herbivorous diet similar to cattle which release large quantities of methane, kangaroos release virtually none ! ( impeccable manners !)
In kangaroos, the hydrogen byproduct of fermentation is instead converted into acetate, which is then used to provide further energy. (soooo clever too ! ) 
Cow farts are a source of greenhouse gases, while kangaroo farts are methane free thanks to a particular bacteria in their stomachs.
Now, in a bizarre twist of science-reality, scientists from Australia are trying to neutralize cow-produced methane by transferring that kangaroo bacteria to cattle and sheep’s guts.
According to the government of Queensland, almost 14% of all greenhouse gas emissions from Australia come from cow farts, so this seemingly silly idea could actually make a big difference.

And on that note I'll say....

Cheers.