What you see in this picture says more about you than the kangaroo | Stephen Moss
by Stephen Moss from on (#10P2C)
Whatever the animal was demonstrating - empathy, sexual exploitation or something else - one certainty is the human impulse to anthropomorphise
It was a photograph that touched the world. An intimate portrait of a dying mother kangaroo being gently cradled by her mate, while with her last breath she reached out to caress her innocent baby.
Yet, as it turns out, that is not what the photo shows at all. As an Australian expert swiftly pointed out, rather than protecting the female, the male appears to be trying to mate with her, holding her close to fend off any rivals. Indeed, his unwanted attentions may even have led to her death.
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