Yesterday, photos of a kangaroo supposedly mourning his dead mate taken by Queensland photographer Evan Switzer went batshit viral, as everyone lost their collective minds over this heartbreaking scene of true love in the animal kingdom.
Hey, we’re not judging – those pics were cute as hell.
Yet, as it turns out, that kangaroo was less likely to be in mourning and just actually trying to score some action, says the Australian Museum‘s Principal Research Scientist Dr Mark Elridge.
“Great photos of the kangaroos, but I think they are fundamentally misinterpreted,” he said.
“The male is clearly highly stressed and agitated, his forearms are very wet from him licking himself to cool down. He is also sexually aroused: the evidence is here sticking out from behind the scrotum (yes, in marsupials the penis is located behind the scrotum).”
BREAKING: KANGA HAS A STIFFY, IS NOT HEARTBROKEN AT ALL.
In addition to this, the kangaroo is not, “propp[ing] up her head so she could see her joey before she died,” he said. “This is a male trying to get a female to stand up so he can mate with her.”
AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE PHOTOGRAPHER SAID THE KANGAROO WAS DOING?
There is a lesson to be learnt here, and it is this:
Photo: Evan Switzer.
