- [Coyote] What's going on guys?
Everybody's having dinner.
And right now because it is feeding time
they're all gathered around, we've got,
some delicious kangaroo pellets.
- [Cameraman] Oh you're eating it?
Oh no, oh Coyote, oh.
(tribal drumming music)
(guitar music)
- [Coyote] Australia hails claim
to many iconic animal species.
And I am sure that if I asked you to name a few,
it wouldn't be hard to shout out creatures,
such as crocodiles, koalas,
and arguably the outbacks most recognizable, the kangaroo.
Hi bud, how are ya?
These powerful marsupials are endemic to Australia,
which means this great continent
is the only place in the world they can be found.
And while it's not uncommon
to see them hopping across the countryside,
to get up close with a troop of them,
we needed to visit a location
where they were acclimated to humans.
The best place to do that
was the one and only Billabong Sanctuary.
Located in Nome, a small town just south of Townsville
in North Queensland.
The Billabong Sanctuary
is considered to be one of Australia's
top ecotourism attractions.
There it is, that is the Billabong
and this is where the Billabong Sanctuary gets it's name.
For over 35 years,
they have been contributing to conservation efforts,
while also providing the public
with a hands on education about wildlife.
And while some of their species
are considered too dangerous to interact with
like feeding a saltwater crocodile by hand.
Feeding kangaroos is an experience the crew and I
simply couldn't pass up on.
So if you're ready, grab your snacks
because it's kangaroo feeding time.
Okay, well this is cool,
now there are multiple different kangaroos
that live on the grounds here at the Billabong Sanctuary
and that right there is the red kangaroo.
Now this is the largest land mammal here
in the continent of Australia.
I have some kangaroo feed with me right here,
let me see if I can feed this kangaroo.
How are you?
He's like, umm, I don't know.
No, the red kangaroo I'm told is shyer
than the eastern greys that are here.
Uh oh, we're bringing in whistling ducks.
The whistling ducks also love this food, look at that.
Oh, the beaks are showing really, yeah.
I think I'm gettin' low, interesting.
(laughing)
- [Cameraman] Never hand fed a duck.
- Oh look, they're fightin' each other now.
Ow, ow, ow!
Ow!
Jeez, that one really got me good.
- [Cameraman] Oh, that's a goose!
- It's like a vulture goose right there.
Yeah, that'd give you a wallop.
- [Cameraman] Ah, look at that.
- Oh yeah, he got you.
We can probably catch one of these ducks.
He's like nope, alright.
- [Cameraman] The red kangaroo's gone.
- And the red kangaroo just like that disappeared.
Alright, let's go find the eastern greys.
(upbeat electronica music)
There.
- [Cameraman] You see one.
- I see one right through there, see it.
Let's see if the (mumbles) is here.
(birds chirping)
What's goin' on, guys?
Yes, everybody's havin' dinner.
It's amazing we can just come right in
and get up close with kangaroo.
- [Cameraman] I mean these kangaroos are not in enclosures,
they just roam freely.
- [Coyote] The roam freely here at the sanctuary
and the decide when and where they wanna go.
And right now because it is feeding time,
they are all gathered around.
We've got some delicious kangaroo pellets.
- [Cameraman] Uh, you're eating it, oh no, no Coyote, no.
- Really dry.
Kind of tastes like bran meal.
Look at this one here, hey bud, how are you?
How are those grasses?
Oh look at this, this is a momma,
we got a joey sticking out on this backside here.
Baby, you know it's dinner time, right?
Maybe it's still small enough to be drinking milk.
Here's something maybe you didn't know,
all baby marsupials are called joeys,
so whether it's a possum, a kangaroo, a wombat or a koala,
they're all considered joeys.
Oh, look at this, he's gettin' ready to come out.
Oh yeah.
Look at that right there, little joey coming out.
That's kind of interesting is that
I didn't know that joeys
could turn around inside the pouch like that,
so you actually have the hind legs hanging out here
and the hand and the little face.
Hi bud, how are you?
Coming out for some dinner?
- [Cameraman] Now, how much longer
'til that joey's out of the pouch?
- [Coyote] Well, that's what's cool
is that the joeys can go in and out of the pouch.
Now when they're really little,
they stay inside of the pouch
not only to nourish off of the mother's milk,
but they can also use it as protection
and as a place to sleep.
Now, until that kangaroo
is big enough to not fit in the pouch,
it will continue to go into the pouch
until it can sort of take care of itself.
I love the design of the kangaroo's head,
almost looks like the head of a deer
and what's similar to deer
is that they can actually individually move their ears,
so they can listen in one direction
and turn another like 180-degrees
and hear what's behind them.
They don't actually even have to move their heads
to be able to listen.
- [Cameraman] Now what is that thing you're eating?
- Some sort of, almost looks like razor grass,
but it's just,
hmm, some sort of a sweet grass.
That's good, I see why you guys like that.
- I got an idea,
why don't we go feed some of those kangaroos
over there on the hill?
- Okay, I'm gonna still some of this, let's see.
We're gonna see if these kangaroos over here want some food.
Hey bud, look, I got some treats for ya'.
Hops right up.
Now their little noses are so soft.
This is a little juvenile
and this is a great example of a kangaroo
that's now big enough to be outside of its mother's pouch,
but even though they look docile and gentle,
if you were to ever come across a kangaroo in the wild
you have to remember that they can be very territorial
especially the males
and the last thing you want to have happen
is to be kicked by one of those hind legs.
Now the hind legs are incredibly powerful,
let's take a look at that with this little joey
that's just hangin' out with us here.
And they are powerful, powerful parts to this animal
and there's a lot of muscle right in here
and then in the back
is where they have their achilles tendon.
Oop, see that jump right there
and it's like this creature is spring-loaded.
Almost like when you stretch a rubber band.
When they bend down and then leap off,
that hop can project them forward at incredible speeds.
Now, when the kangaroo reaches top speeds
it's capable of bounding a single leap
that's as far as 30-feet
and if it needs to
it can jump at a height of close to 10-feet
and for reference, that's as tall as an NBA basketball rim.
That's interesting, kangaroos have teeth
that are very similar to the teeth of the wombat
and the koala.
Seems like all marsupials
have a very similar dental structure.
It is again,
this animal is a combination
of multiple things from the United States
like the head and ears look like that of a deer,
the legs are like that of a rabbit
and then the tail,
well, I guess I've never seen a tail quite like that before,
do you?
- [Cameraman] No. (laughing)
Well, I would say this fur
is almost like underfur,
it's not very wirey, it's very soft.
- No, it is really, really soft.
Well, I can imagine that with how hot it is in Australia,
they need to keep cool
and during the heat of the day,
kangaroos will actually curl up in the shade.
And here's something kind of interesting,
they will lick their paws, their forearms
and their legs to stay cool,
so you know how a dog will pant to sweat.
The kangaroos cool themselves down
by licking their arms and hands.
- [Cameraman] Let's see this snack.
- Try the carrot, like the carrot?
- Nope, so no carrots.
- [Cameraman] Carrots?
I was told they like carrots.
- I guess not.
They must have a very high in fiber diet
with all these little bran pellets that they're eating.
Oh, there's a hop away, look at that.
- [Cameraman] I think dinner time might be over.
- Yeah, well the sun is starting to get low in the sky
and at this point they're probably getting ready
to hunker down for the night.
Of course, there are no predators
for you here at the sanctuary,
are there?
Real nice, safe place to sleep under a tree maybe.
What do you think?
You wanna have a sleepover, have a camp out?
Would that be cool?
Ha, that would be so cool to camp out with a kangaroo.
That's a GoPro camera, you ever seen one of those?
Heard something off in the distance, huh.
Well I would say that this is the perfect end to our day,
hanging out for dinner with the eastern grey kangaroo.
I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave, stay wild,
we'll see you on the next adventure.
Hey Coyote Pack, I have some exciting news.
I'm proud to announce
that the crew and I will be back on tour in 2018
with Brave Wilderness Live.
Visiting cities all across North America.
Our first shows are in Anaheim and San Diego, California.
From there, we head to Phoenix, Arizona.
Beyond that, we will be visiting San Francisco, California,
Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Washington
and Boulder, Colorado.
With many more shows to be announced in the coming months.
Tickets can be purchased at the Great Wilderness website,
so make sure to reserve your seats today
and don't forget, subscribe,
so you can join me and the crew
on this season of Breaking Trail.
I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave.
(kids cheering be wild)
(coyote calling)