An Alpine Dingo hunting a kangaroo
An Alpine Dingo chasing a kangaroo, which has a badly injured foot
Canon EOS R1 with a Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM Lens [ISO 1250, 800mm, f/9.0 and 1/2500])
OK, I admit, that these are not great photos. They were taken at a distance with my 200-800mm zoom at maximum zoom and cropped in. While I wouldn’t normally post low quality images like this, I thought that it was interesting subject matter. These photos were taken at around 8:40 in the morning and show what I think was a male Alpine Dingo hunting an Eastern Grey Kangaroo. The dingo chased the kangaroo down a hill and was about a body-length and a bit behind it. The kangaroo already seemed to have some blood on it, and the photo shows that its left toes were bent up at about 90 degrees when its feet were kicked back, not very natural. It looked like it had already been wounded by the dingo.
Still chasing
Canon EOS R1 with a Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM Lens [ISO 1250, 800mm, f/9.0 and 1/2500])
The dingo kept chasing the kangaroo, but appeared to be getting left behind. I did not see the end of the chase, despite it happening almost in front of me, because of a dip in the ground. I didn’t see either animal appear from the hidden ground, so they may might have headed in another direction that was out of my line of sight or maybe the dingo caught the kangaroo in low scrub and was hidden from my view. This was the closest that I had been to a dingo hunting, so it was interesting to see the speed at which it moved. I was also amazed that the kangaroo could go as fast as it was with such an obvious injury to its foot. I suspect that truly was the adrenalin carrying the kangaroo on.
Female dingo carrying kangaroo ribs while other kangaroos jump away
Canon EOS R1 with a Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM Lens [ISO 1250, 800mm, f/9.0 and 1/2500])
That same morning, in fact just before I saw the dingo hunting, I also observed a female dingo carrying what appeared to be kangaroo ribs across the ground that the other dingo was shortly to chase the kangaroo. The female, paused for a few minutes and looked back the way she had come, possibly looking for the other dingo, before continuing her fast walk. I lost sight of her, but her direction had her heading into the tree line. I was wondering if she was heading to a den to feed young dingoes their first meat, or to feed another dingo providing milk to very young pups. The kangaroos hopping in the foreground appeared to be reacting to the two dingoes crossing the area.
Despite the distance from me, I was excited to see an Alpine Dingo hunting. I was also intrigued by the other dingo appearing to carry food off to another location, possibly to a den. Their are plenty of kangaroo bones around the area to show that dingoes have plenty of food, yet that hasn’t scared off the kangaroos, that distance themselves from roving dingoes but still stay on the grassland, in clear sight of the predators. Nature is sometimes brutal, but that is the reality of the how animals live, and it is fascinating to view a true survival contest unfold in real time.
