Gloves off! Roos duke it out at uni
THEY are hairy, full of testosterone, and they like to grunt, kick and hit during a fight.
Male kangaroos at the University of the Sunshine Coast have been showing each other who's boss.
Wildlife Volunteers Association's Donna Anthony said much like male adolescents, male kangaroos were aggressive when their protective instincts set in.
"With the young males, it's very natural behaviour to see," Ms Anthony said.
"Normally with eastern grey kangaroos, like the ones around the university, as they grow up, they fight.
"With the young ones, it's more a playful thing, but as they get older, they will take on others like they're the king of the mob. They're very similar to young males of the human kind."
University of the Sunshine Coast lecturer in Wildlife Ecology Scott Burnett a said despite the kangaroo population on campus dropping, it was still common to see aggressive behaviour.
"A recent student study has shown the kangaroo population has dropped for the second year running, with half as many kangaroos on campus as there were two years ago," he said.
"It's fairly common and normal behaviour but it's seasonal too."
Former director of marketing Margaret Thursby caught a round of "boxing" between a pair on the university campus seven years ago.
Now a Buderim retiree, the photos she captured of the fight were recently found in her home - and they were just too good not to share.
"I'm compiling a photo book and I stumbled upon them," she said.
>> KANGA FACTS
- There are at least 49 eastern grey kangaroos living on the Sunshine Coast uni campus
- Males can grown to more than 1.5m tall
