Untitled Document

JARRAH'S TALE

Jarrah was born at Roo Gully on 9th March 2000.
He is Sadie's third joey and his father is the handsome wild boomer Oliver.

And taking after both his parents Jarrah has grown up to become our most handsome kangaroo.

Jarrah was the second joey Sadie gave birth to that year. His older brother, Samson, missed the pouch and died.
He also has an older sister Wattle, who became a young at foot so he could take up residence inside the pouch.

Sadie had been very happy for us to follow Wattle's development
in the pouch and we were delighted that she also allowed us to film
and document Jarrah's progress. It meant we could compare directly a female and male joey's development born to the same parents, and added valuable information to our study into joey development.

We never bored of watching a pouched marsupial change from being a tiny pink bean to an identifiable animal.
It was a fascinating insight into what is usually a very private world,
and as Jarrah grew we could see that once again Sadie had produced a good looking joey.

She was also once again a very good mother.

But when he became a young at foot we quickly realised that Jarrah was not the brightest little joey and he often became confused as to who was mum.
However, surprisingly, the other mothers accepted the little guy, the son of the dominant female, and he was allowed to snuggle up to them all.

I have to admit because he was the son of the dominant male and female we expected Jarrah to be dominant too.
And we were hoping that by observing his rise through the ranks of the mob we would be able
to add evidence to our theory that when they are coming to the end of their reign at the top
dominant boomers make sure they leave an heir to pass on their genes.
But Jarrah's behaviour totally confused our thinking.

For one thing he was never the bravest of kangaroos.

And even when he was big boy, he often hid behind his mother hoping she would protect him!

Of course there came the day when Jarrah was expected to get involved in the boys' sparring for ranking,
but his efforts would have been a disappointment to his father!
Even young George beat him!
And he was very submissive to the other boys.

Jarrah did make a good show of sniffing the air like a dominant boomer - even though he lost.

But the problem seems to be that Jarrah is a dreamy kind of guy.

And to be honest he is a mummy's boy,
still feeding from Sadie even when he was much bigger than her!

In all seriousness there is probably a reason for Jarrah's apparent lack of ambition and courage.
Because his mother and his sister live at Roo Gully
we decided that Jarrah should be castrated to prevent any inbreeding

During the operation our vet announced that Jarrah had deformed testicles,
and ironically it was highly unlikely he could father a joey.

We had noticed that Sadie did not train her son as she had her daughter, Wattle.
Maybe she knew not to waste her energy on a sterile son.

Jarrah is a happy kangaroo, who still remains very close to his mother.
And he is also a healthy roo.
But he was seriously injured in the incident in which Freckle died.
He too hit the fence and suffered serious head and neck injuries.
It was pitiful to see him hopping along the fence line, very concussed, and unable to hold his head up
as he searched for his mother who had jumped the high fence.

But the family ties were strong that day, and Wattle raced to be with her brother.

We were very worried about Jarrah, but could not get near him to treat his injuries.
Although he had his sister he desperately needed his mother to care for him.

The next morning Sadie was waiting outside the fence.

And wanting to come home was easily tempted back inside.

Jarrah felt better, but it was several weeks
before he made a full recovery.

Thankfully though he did.

Jarrah has added valuable information to our studies into joey development and mob behaviour,
and we will continue to observe him for as long as he lives at Roo Gully.

So far he has proved that there is a strong bond between mother and son, even when the offspring is a few years old.

We have discovered that kangaroos, like humans, are all individuals.
Jarrah was a very gentle joey and he has not changed.
Over the years we have watched him grow into a gentle kangaroo.

He is also a very happy roo,
as long as mum is not too far away!

But he is still quite a shy roo,
only allowing me to close enough to just stroke his nose.

Surprisingly he does hold quite a high rank in the mob,
but we feel he only has this respect because he is the son of the dominant female.

However he is an accepted member of the young males' group
and does play a part in the mob structure.

Jarrah is a very special kangaroo at Roo Gully,
and the information we have gained, and hope to gain, from following his life
will we hope lead to a better understanding of kangaroos and their mobs.
Your 'adoption' will help us get that vital information out there.

On behalf of Jarrah and his mates we thank you for caring