MATERNAL INSTINCT

She stood hesitantly on the edge of the highway, framed by long reeds of bleached grass at her back, waiting to cross.  She lifted her head to gaze across at the cool green of the forest beyond the bitumen strip and breathed in the air gently.  The trees beckoned quietly and with a backwards glance, she hopped tentatively into the road.

This was the sight I took in as I rounded the corner of the highway and saw with horror this beautiful kangaroo at risk of being run over.  She glanced back over her shoulder then stopped, turned around and hopped back to the grass.  My eyes carried past her and saw what had taken her back – her young joey!  He was hopping frantically up and down on the paddock-side of the fence.

His mother bent down to show him how to get through, then turned and hopped back to the road.  As she crossed the road in languid bounces, my heart stood still.  Her joey just couldn’t do it.  He hopped jerkily away into the middle of the paddock, uttering harsh guttural cries, then returned to wear down the fenceline.

Instantly, I was won over.  I determined there and then to do all that I could to protect them as she tried to train her joey.  I pulled up with flashing lights and became a self-appointed traffic controller, slowing down cars and tourists in caravans.

For quarter of an hour I forced cars to crawl past while she made trips across the road and back, trying to coax her joey out of the safety of the paddock.  He just wasn’t a risk taker.  She just wouldn’t give up.  I just couldn’t bear to watch.

One last time she disappeared down into the long grass at the fence and one last time she hopped back up to the edge of the highway, this time with a little grey shape behind her.  He’d overcome his fear of the fence.

I breathed again.  Then they both stopped and I held my breath as they waited on the edge of the highway.

Then I forgot to breathe as I heard the roar of the school bus approaching from behind and they still stood there.  I swung into action, pulling into the centre of the lane and watching keenly in my rear view mirror to slow the bus down.

As if in slow motion her joey followed some unspoken command and stuck his head into her pouch, then quickly scrambled into that safe kangaroo capsule, tail and all.  Back in charge, she pushed down hard on her powerful tail and took them both in three long parabolas of maternal instinct into the safety of the trees.