My Life with Kangaroos: A Deaf Woman's Remarkable Story

21. Eukala

233 21 Eukala WHEN, in 2006, I set off for Australia, I had an important matter in mind. This time I had firmly decided to get in touch with an Aboriginal. Why? I was determined to learn what my intense concern with kangaroos was all about. I wanted to know definitively why I had felt so drawn to these animals since childhood. Almost as important for me was to understand why I felt so much more at home under the open sky of Australia’s countryside than I did in my native Switzerland. Above all, it had been my artistic associations with Australia’s earlier inhabitants that had persuaded me to make this decision. In passing, I had sometimes wondered what would have happened if kangaroos were native, say, to Alaska or the hellish green jungles of the Amazon! Could I, for example, have made up my mind to live for months in an igloo and, stoically ignoring the cold, gone on daylong trips on skis and in snow boots over icy terrain to accompany these creatures on their migrations? Or would I have had the pluck to risk the inferno of South America’s tropical rain forests with all their dangers, visible and invisible, in pursuit of my favorite animal? These are questions for which I have no honest answer. Really, they are absurd questions since how is it possible to separate Australia from the kangaroo? Kangaroos are an inseparable part of Australia’s natural history. One thing is certain, however: It was kangaroos that drew me again and again to this continent, and it is because of them that this country became the most attractive part of the world for me. 9781563685590_My Life with Kangaroos.indd 233 4/8/13 11:04 AM 234 MY LIFE WITH KANGAROOS Thanks to the kind mediation of a German friend of mine, Margit, who has lived in Australia for thirty years, I was able to finally have an opportunity to make the acquaintance of an Aboriginal. Margit, who lives in northern Australia, is a trained animal keeper. There Article about me with my friend Margit Cianelli in the Australian newspaper Tablelander, which was published in 2008. Margit keeps a breeding station for tree kangaroos as well as various other kangaroo species. 9781563685590_My Life with Kangaroos.indd 234 4/8/13 11:04 AM Eukala 235 she lives in a beautiful house in the tropical forest fifteen minutes by car from the nearest township. Quite a number of animals romp about on her land, all of them brought up by her own hand. Most of them are so-called tree kangaroos and young giant kangaroos. The place is well known in the region and enjoys a good reputation as an animal care station. Because of this, Margit is frequently called upon to take in young animals that have been orphaned when the mother is hit by a car, for example. Her advice on other veterinary questions is also very much valued. Margit and the Aboriginal woman with whom I was to become acquainted had gotten to know each other years before when they were both involved in saving a seriously injured flying fox that had become entangled in barbed wire. Eukala,43 the Aboriginal, had contacted Margit, who suggested covering the animal with a blanket and waiting for her to arrive. However, by the time she got there, the animal had died. For Eukala, this accident was a shocking experience since the flying fox was her totem and for that reason sacrosanct. She felt responsible for the creature’s death. In tears, she told her friends about the tragedy and asked for comfort. From this moment on, the two women often met and later became friends. My meeting with Eukala had been arranged months before my arrival. In addition, I had talked with friends at length about what kind of questions I should ask her. A few of these are listed here: — Is there an explanation for my great affection for kangaroos? — What significance does the kangaroo have for the Aboriginals? — Are there people among the Aboriginals with a penchant similar to mine? — What differentiates a kangaroo from other animals? — What role does this animal play in the myths of the original inhabitants? 43. “Eukala” is a pseudonym. The real name is known only to me and has been changed at the express wish of the person concerned. 9781563685590_My Life...