DAY 228

PHOTOGRAPHIC CURIOSITIES

Urban Legends IV

THE KANGAROO’S REVENGE

A group of tourists is driving through the Australian outback when a kangaroo suddenly jumps across the road and is struck by their vehicle. The tourists, assuming the animal to be dead, decide to have a bit of fun—they prop the kangaroo up and begin to photograph each other standing next to it. Eventually, one of them puts his jacket on the animal for a photo. While taking the picture, however, the travelers realize that the kangaroo was only stunned by the blow. It comes to and bounds off into the wilderness wearing the jacket—the pockets of which held all of the tourists’ money, passports, and credit cards.

In a North American permutation of this legend, a hunter shoots a prize buck using a recently purchased, costly rifle. Preparing to photograph the animal for hunting-lodge braggadocio, he positions the deer with his rifle carefully laid across its antlers. The deer suddenly regains consciousness, however, and darts into the woods with the expensive rifle still on its head.

Told across Australia, Europe and North America, this tale has inspired everything from an Aussie beer commercial to an American B-movie.

The moral of the “animal’s revenge” legend is apparent: The hunter is punished by the cosmic powers-that-be for his hubris, and the tourists for mocking the animal’s demise. As with many photographic urban legends, the moral voice of folklore seems to caution listeners against using cameras in a wanton, selfish fashion. —DJS