Thousands of kangaroos die on the Stuart Highway, which is the length of Australia from Darwin to Adelaide.
Their claws clutch at the sides of the bitumen.
This kangaroo was named -O- because in her death she appeared to howl.
Malu (Marlu Marlu) is one of the spiritual names for the kangaroo along this stretch of highway in South Australia.
The heat, flies, maggots and rotting corpses give off the smell of LPG gas.
These corpses were documented for approx. 3,000 kilometres.
I wanted their brief lives and tragic deaths to have meant something.
This mother kangaroo was carrying a joey in her pouch.
I travelled this highway for as long as it took to document every kangaroo who still had a face.
These animals are the victims of human traffic.
This slaughter occurs every night on Australian outback highways.
It is mainly caused by trucks, roadtrains and luxury tourist coaches keeping to a schedule by speeding down these highways at night.
Other times it is caused by people who drive at night.
The last dead kangaroo that I photographed was named 'the 5K kangaroo' as she was just 5km from the town centre in Port Augusta in South Australia.
Much of Australia's wildlife is nocturnal, moving across the highways after dark when it's cooler.
People should not be driving at night on any outback roads in Australia.
While photographing the dead kangaroos, I met Don. Don works for a company that cleans the roadkill (traffic hazzard) off the highways.
Australia is famous for its wildlife. But when visiting Australia, tourists soon learn that the dead are more visible than the living.
From the decay I was determined to name each one of them.
I took some photos of dead roos along the Stuart Hwy from Pine Creek to Katherine covering a distance of 89km. I took 87 photos. This took 5 hours.
These roadtrains serve the double horror of taking thousands of innocent cows to their slaughter, as well as killing native wildlife.
This occurs because some people like the taste of meat (animal flesh).
The violence on Australia's highways is a reflection of a violent Australian culture.
I named this beautful red kangaroo 'the crucifixtion kangaroo.'
These signs appeared in South Australia, but most of the kangaroos died in The Northern Territory where there were no signs.
It was as though the kangaroos didn't exist.
It was awful to see the gentle face of this magnificent male kangaroo dragged along the bitumen. I had been strong but this one brought me to tears.
I drove from Katherine to Elliot and took 241 photographs of all the dead kangaroos who still had a face.
These forgotten victims are left to rot away on both sides of the Stuart Highway.
Maggots, blowflies, stench, heat, agony, silence.
My primary concern was the 'individuality' of each kangaroo.
I am now able to tell you where the most lives have been lost, from one end of Australia to the other,
including the differences in the density and the variation of species being killed.
Their nightly movements over a period of time can be evidenced from the dead.
Don scapes kangaroos and other wildlife off the highways. The company he works for is subcontracted by the Dept of Transport and Works.
I named this roo Teddy. He would have been a beautiful boy when he was alive.
I drove from Elliot to Renner Springs and took 349 photographs and from Ti Tree to Alice Springs taking 704 photographs.
Altogether I took 2,500 photographs.
I want their agony to teach us about how it is wrong to inflict pain upon others.
There are always things that we can do to save their lives before its too late.
And to save the lives of the scavenger animals such as crows, wedgetail eagles, kites, cats, foxes and dingoes who are then hit while feeding on the kangaroo corpses.
Don't drive at night in the Australian outback. Do a wildlife rescue course.
Always check the pouches of does for joeys. This tragic photo shows the small gangly legs of the dead joey still in his mother's pouch.
Don't speed during the day, especially when it is raining, at dusk or during drought. Truck and tourist coaches must stop driving at night on outback highways.
The spirituality of this country is born of the land and its creatures. This senseless carnage of Australia's wildlife can and must stop now.
Click here
to make a donation or send a cheque/money order to;
The Thylazine Foundation Pty Ltd
GPO Box 1480, Darwin, Northern Territory, 0801, Australia.
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