Now listen to me, and listen well: Kangaroo dishes out tough love to her joey



Looking up at his mother as she holds him in a firm grip, this joey appears to be realise he is about to get a right telling off.

In an incredibly human-like show of emotion, the female grabs the youngster by the shoulders as she stares him down and in others she towers menacingly above him.

The remarkable pictures of the mother and her child were taken by John Eastcott and Yva Momatiuk while visiting the Yuraygir National Park in New South Wales, Australia.

Now stand still while I talk to you: The mother appears to be sternly reprimanding her youngster at the Yuraygir National Park in New South Wales, Australia Who me? The joey glances up at his mother moments before she grabs hold of him

The married couple, from the Catskill Mountains, in New York, had their camera at the ready when they spotted the Eastern Grey kangaroo female with her offspring.

Yva said: 'This was one of two females with young joeys.

'The mothers were grazing in short grass and periodically resting, while the babies kept sticking their heads and legs out of the pouches.

Listen, I'm the boss: The kangaroo lifts the young joey off the ground. The pictures were taken by husband and wife John Eastcott and Yva Momatiuk during a visit to the park

'The joeys began to scramble out of the pouches, jump around in the grass, interact with their mothers, and then jump back in,' says Yva Momatiuk

'The scene was very peaceful and had an intimacy of a nursery - mamas and babies enjoying a warm day in the sun.

'We stayed with the kangaroos all day and when evening came the action got more vigorous.

'The joeys began to scramble out of the pouches, jump around in the grass, interact with their mothers, and then jump back in.

'It was great fun to watch, and since we moved gently the mothers ignored our presence, which made us happy.

'The young joeys learn to use their long limbs and improve their sense of balance by jumping in and out of their mothers' pouches.'