LOOK: Photographer captures moment dying kangaroo cradled by mate

Screen grab from The Guardian

A photographer in Australia has captured a heartbreaking moment of a dying female kangaroo cradled by its male companion as her joey looks on and reaches out.

According to a report by The Guardian, the photo was snapped by Evan Switzer in River Heads, Queensland, during a walk on Monday morning.

The photo, which was taken under the shade of a mango tree, saw the mother kangaroo propping up her head before she died to see her joey, which was standing near her body.

“I saw the male pick up the female, he looked like he was just trying to get her up and see what was wrong with her,” Switzer was quoted as saying. “He would lift her up and she wouldn’t stand she’d just fall to the ground, he’d nudge her, stand beside her … it was a pretty special thing, he was just mourning the loss of his mate.”

The report said the male companion guarded the mother kangaroo’s corpse and chased other kangaroos that came near the body.

“I’ve travelled around a bit and you see a lot of dead roos on the side of the road—but I’ve never seen anything like that before … The male would chase the other kangaroos that came around away—he was sort of protective over the female,” Switzer said.

“The young one looked kind of confused, it would stand by the mother and then hop off and chew some grass, and then come right back again,” he added. YG/RC