Yellow-footed Rock Wallabies (Petrogale xanthopus) - South Australia

A 600 km trip north of Kangaroo Island placed me at a favoured location to photograph Yellow-footed Rock Wallabies (Petrogale xanthopus).  I’ve been coming to this location for several years and have been excited at watching the population of these threatened small marsupials slowing increasing in number.  

LEFT:  A Yellow Foot, it's spectacular and distinctive fluffed tail showing, sits on a rock in-between feeding.

Hunted by the early settlers for their ornate yellow brown coats, colonies were only observed in a few far flung regions of their former range; the wallabies almost became extinct.  Although hunting has since been made illegal and few if any are actually shot by hunters today, the yellow foots are still in trouble.  Clearing practices and the introduction of feral goats have destroyed much of their former habitat.  Goats are particularly troublesome as they eat the vegetation favoured by the wallabies.  Additionally, the goat’s hard hoofs (no native Australian animals has hard hoofs) destroys the soil structure which increases the likelihood of erosion.  Australian authorities have instigated a campaign against the feral goats and regular aerial culling has reduced goat population numbers which has allowed the wallabies to expand their range to the point that the population is now slowly recovering.

The yellow foots live high on the scree slopes and sleep most of the day in rock overhangs and caves, only migrating to the lower slopes in the late afternoon to spend the evening foraging on vegetation.  In the morning they move upwards onto the scree slopes to avoid one of their natural predators, the Wedge-tailed Eagle.  

LEFT:  Yellow-footed Rock Wallabies enjoy sitting on rocks which is their favoured habitat.

It rarely rains in the arid region, however, when it does the arid region is transformed form a dry arid desert environment to a lush green tapestry of vegetation.  Rain had fell for almost a month before my visit and areas usually devoid of vegetation were carpeted in green.  This increase in available vegetation meant that the wallabies did not have to move to the lower slopes to feed.  Although the recent rain and increase in vegetation will no doubt allow the wallabies to breed thereby adding to the population, it did mean that photographic opportunities were somewhat less than optimal. 

CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT

Photographing in the wallaby area is very challenging for several reasons.  Dust is a BIG issue and keeping sensors clean is almost impossible when changing lenses.  Another challenge is the actual time that you have available to actually take photographs of the yellow foots.  As mentioned, they live high on the scree slopes and venture down to lower elevation only in the late afternoon, leaving for the scree slopes in the early morning.  The topography of this area is such that the sun drops behind the scree slope in the late afternoon leaving roughly 30-45 minutes in which you can capture the wallabies on "film" before the sun and light is gone.  Likewise, in the morning you have about the same amount of time before the sunlight is too harsh (unless cloudy conditions prevail).

I was keen to shoot portraits, however, sneaking close enough to acquire a full frame portrait was next to impossible on this visit.  There was just too much vegetation around for the wallabies to feed on and as such many of the individuals didn't approach close enough to my hide in the rocks.  So rather than worry them by attemopting to get closer, I concentrated on aquiring several environmental shiots tht depeicted the animals (hopefully with tail) in its rocky environment.

No matter what the photographic result, it's always a pleasure to share some time with the yellow foots watching them as they bound along the rocks at almost supersonic speeds!  This animal receives 10/10 for agility,  flexibility and speed.

Search the archive for addtional Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby images & my blog post in 2009

Dusty Conditions

An early wake up at 530 AM and a short scramble to ensure I was in place for the early morning light. I want to capture the yellow foots as they made their way back up the slope to their daytime hides.

I'm particularly careful when photographing wild animals that I do not approach too close, which can cause undue stress and alarm. The desert environment is boom and bust - and energy used unwisely can cause potential shortcomings later on. Wet conditions are boom times and all wildlife profits, however, as soon as drought kicks in, only the strongest and most hardy survive.

The days here are quite warm with temperatures in the early 90s (30C). The wallabies hide from the harsh conditions in their rock shelters as photographers hide in their vehicle. The time between shoots (9AM and 3PM) I clean and service equipment, make meals, sleep, read, and reconnoiter new locations.

My base camp on this trip is nowhere fancy - in fact it isn't really a nice camping place at all; it was selected for its proximity to the talus slopes. It's along a dry creek bed and I parked alongside some river gums. Note I said alongside and not underneath; camping beneath river gums is foolhardy, as changes in temperature can cause tree limbs to fall. Several campers have been killed by falling tree branches in the past!

The biggest hassle I have encountered on this trip is photographing in extreme dusty conditions. I mean there is dust on everything and inside everything - and my vehicle is air conditioned and relatively well sealed! The dust has been made worse by a continual 5-10 knot wind which continually blows. At times during the day, the vehicle is buffeted as the wing gusts to 20 knots. Thank goodness it stops in the evening. Keeping digital camera sensors clean is a nightmare and I try to not change lenses if possible, instead relying on the use of 3 bodies with different focal lengths - more to carry in the field, but less work cleaning and dust spotting images during post processing.

Despite there being a multitude of camp sites available, every site captures the wind at some stage during the day, and the dust is impartial - it goes everywhere.  The dry rivercourse above is where I spent my entire time when shooting this assignment.

Photographing this afternoon appeared to a waste of time, until I observed a juvenile and mother amongst the cassarina trees. I also noted two sub adults mating higher on the slope, however, obtaining a clean shot of "mating behaviour" was impossible. The two wallabies in the trees were feeding on flowers located amongst the rocks. Due to the high amount of dust in the air clear images were not possible so I took solace in watching instead!

That night I listened to bats swooping low overhead feeding upon insects. I also heard several wallabies scurrying across the rocky creek bed in search of better food on the opposite bank.

Challenging Environment - No Turkey Shoot

The yellow foots are right there - not 30 yards. The light is perfect and it looks like an easy shot. Think again, as this is no turkey shoot.

I have to maneuver myself into a suitable position by jostling amongst the rocks, being careful not to fall from the 45 degree slope. The tripod must be placed securely because the light is low and a slow shutter speed will be used. Then there are the cassarina trees and the dead branches and logs that seem to be located in the most annoying places - like right in front of the lens!

I have to position myself so as to remove these annoying obstructions as no one wants an image of wallaby with a tree growing from its head! 7/10 times after all this moving here and there, the wallaby bounds away apparently tired of your sideshow antics. Add to this a very short time envelope due to the sun setting and minimal light (the location is a easterly facing cliff and the sun sets behind the cliff.) However, with patience (and time) a successful shot can be accomplished.

The image at left really does not to the region justice, but the yellow foots hang out on the ledge you can see.  To photograohy them you must drag yourslef and equipment up onto the ledges and around the base of the rocks.

Low Light, Talus and Yellow Foots (Yellow-footed Rock Wallabies)

The sun is beginning sink toward the horizon and "golden hour" is fast approaching as I make my way to the base of the talus slope. The yellow foots migrate down from the cliffs to feed on vegetation (grass heads and flowers) which grow at the base of the slope and in the dry watercourse.

The terrain in this area is not flat or even undulating. It is a 600 foot talus slope which progrades at the upper end to steep cliffs with rock shelters and overhangs, whilst at the lower end a dry water course meanders along the base. In between are loose rocks, boulders, and a species of cassarina tree (in the lower reaches). The wallabies spend their days in the safety of the higher cliff face, safe from the searching eyes of predators, such as wedge-tailed eagles.

This species of wallaby is endangered and can usually only be observed very late in the afternoon and during the very early morning - in only a few places in Australia.

If you want to photograph yellow foots in the wild, in their natural environment, you have little choice but to scale the talus slope. This on a normal day is difficult, now add 2 camera bodies, 3 lens and a tripod and see how you go! A missed step on a talus slope means expensive camera equipment broken and maybe a fractured ankle or wrist - needless to say care is required.

After a short climb in which I was desperately attempting to be quiet, but failing as rocks kept moving and clinking together as I made my way across them, I saw my quarry. Well, to be truthful they saw me first!

The yellow footed rock wallaby has a beautiful fur coat of orange, white and rufus brown colours. It also sports a very long tail which is coloured and textured like a tiger's coat - stripes. At the end of the tail is a ball of tuffy fur. The tail is an important aspect of the rock wallabies biology; without the tail, the wallaby would not be able to balance as it does precariously on rocks and cliffs.

Banishing these colours you would think that a yellow foot would be easy to see - guess again!

Despite it's striped tail looking like a warning sign on a highway, these critters blend in amazingly with their environment. The yellow and brown colours match the rocks they inhabit - and during low morning and afternoon light, when the rocks glow bright orange and red, and the animals are most active, they blend into their surroundings.

The image left gives you a pretty good idea of the terrain.  The talus slopes is very extensive and the yllow foots bound accross it at almost break neck speed when they have to.  Otherwise, they just crawl down the slope using their exceptionally strong tails for support.

As you can see from the colours, in low light this environment just explods into colour.

Wildlife Photography

Wildlife Photography is not about stopping your vehicle and pointing your lens out of the window in the hope of photographing an animal. Sure, sometimes luck is on your side and this indeed does happen. But, for the most part every trip requires a lot of logistical planing, forethought, patience, skill, and the most important variable - luck.

After arriving at my location, I drove along the access track seeking possible areas that yellow foots would use to migrate down from the cliffs. Then, it's time to get out of the four wheel drive and inspect the sites more closely on foot. I am looking for prints and scats which indicate what animals have used the area, and how long ago they were here. Luck was on my side, for after spending an hour or so scouting I discovered fresh markings and scats.