The Memphis Zoo was bustling last Wednesday as I strolled into its newest exhibit. On my right, a crowd of excited families. And on my left, a mob of red kangaroos. (That’s what a group of them are called.) There were about a dozen of them. Zoo spokesperson Amanda Moses assured me this wasn’t your typical zoo encounter.
“How many places can you actually go to see kangaroos hanging out?” Moses asked. “There aren’t a lot of places that I can think of. So, I definitely think there is some excitement for sure.”
Of course, what makes the new KangaZoo Outback Experience such an experience is the fact there’s nothing between you and these marsupials. Red kangaroos are the largest in Australia -- up to six-feet tall on their hind legs. And you’re on their turf. But don’t worry; they won’t bite.
“We haven’t had kangaroos in a long time,” said Gail Karr, associate curator of special exhibits. “They’re such great animals, and to see them and walk with them, that they might approach up close and personal is an exciting feeling. And just watch them and kind of be in their own habitat with them."
She wasn’t kidding about up-close-and-personal. While you can’t chase the roos around, you can get as close as they want to get to you. One kangaroo hopped right past me as I was taking his picture.
Karr said this is the first time kangaroos have been at the Memphis Zoo for more than 20 years. A big reason for their return, she said, is conservation efforts brought on by last year’s Australian wildfires.
“So much wildlife was killed as well as human life in the Australia fires that this did really bring it home for a lot of people because we heard so much about how Australia is suffering,” Karr said.
If you’d like to have your own run-in with the mob at the Memphis Zoo, the Outback experience is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. I’m told the roos are most active when gates first open.
