Meet the mob of street-smart kangaroos moving into Australia’s capital city and the ecologists who follow their every move. Over the course of one drought-stricken year, follow mob leader, Black Spot, and kangaroo mother, Madge, with her two young joeys — mischievous Sonny and tiny pouch-bound Alice. This is a look at what happens when human development encroaches on wildlife habitat and two very different species are forced to co-exist. Buy the DVD. This film premiered on January 11, 2012. (Video limited to U.S. & Territories.)

There are thousands of kangaroos living in the hills around Canberra. And as night falls, they start moving into the suburbs.

In the past 50 years, the eastern gray kangaroo population around Canberra, Australia’s capital city, has exploded from a few hundred to tens of thousands. Forced from the surrounding drought-stricken hills, hungry kangaroos have done their best to adapt to city life, dining on city parks and suburban lawns—though they do pay a price for their meals. Each year, thousands of kangaroos lose their lives in collisions with cars on busy roads, causing injuries and property damage of more than a million dollars in the process. Overgrazing by large numbers of kangaroos has also created stress on the environment. It’s all led to a government policy of culling, and an emotional public dispute between those who support reducing kangaroo numbers, and those who are appalled by the prospect of killing this beloved Australian icon. The government’s culling “solution” has led some Canberra residents to seek out new, innovative, and kangaroo-friendly ways to regulate the surging population. Can they be relocated, or can their numbers be controlled through forced contraception?

Following the stories of several urban kangaroos, Kangaroo Mob reveals how these metropolitan marsupials manage to survive the city, and documents the ongoing debate on how best to manage them.

DIRECTOR
STEVE WESTH

PRODUCER
SALLY INGLETON

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
PETER COLEMAN ACS
PHILLIP BULL

EDITOR
TONY STEVENS ASE

ORIGINAL MUSIC
DALE CORNELIUS

SOUND
STEVE WESTH
CHRIS WEST
BEN TRAVERS

WRITERS
STEVE WESTH
MARK LEWIS
SIMON TARGET

LINE PRODUCERS
KATE BREEN
JOSEPHINE WRIGHT

RESEARCH
NICKY TYNDALE BISCOE
SALLY INGLETON
JOSEPHINE WRIGHT

ADDITIONAL CAMERA
MARK LAMBLE
SIMON TARGET
LUKE CAMERON

EDIT ASSISTANT
OLIVIA APPLEBY

POST PRODUCER
HALEY GILLIES

COLORIST
DEIDRE McCLELLAND

ONLINE EDITOR
CHRIS DEA

GRAPHICS
ROOM3

SOUND DESIGNER
TRISTAN MEREDITH

FOLEY
GERRY LONG

DEVELOPED AND PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH
ABC TV
FILM VICTORIA

ABC COMMISSIONING EDITORS
ALAN ERSON
KARINA HOLDEN

DISTRIBUTED BY
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TELEVISION INTERNATIONAL

PRODUCTION SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
SCREEN AUSTRALIA

Executive Producer
SALLY INGLETON

© 2011 Screen Australia, Film Victoria and 360 Degree Films

FOR NATURE

SERIES EDITOR
JANET HESS

SUPERVISING PRODUCER
JANICE YOUNG

SENIOR PRODUCER
LAURA METZGER LYNCH

PRODUCTION MANAGER
JULIE SCHAPIRO THORMAN

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
JAYNE JUN

RE-RECORDING MIXER
ED CAMPBELL

ONLINE EDITOR
PATRICK KRASS

SERIES PRODUCER
BILL MURPHY

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
FRED KAUFMAN

A Production of 360 Degree Films in association with ABC Television, FILM VICTORIA AUSTRALIA, SCREEN AUSTRALIA, RTBF, SVERIGES TELEVISION AB and YLE

This program was produced by 360 Degree Films, which is solely responsible for its content

© 2012 THIRTEEN
All rights reserved

WEB CREDITS

PRODUCER
KATE FULTON

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
CHIE WITT

DESIGNER
JOY WEEENG

PAGEBUILDING
BRIAN SANTALONE

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
BRIAN LEE

CREATIVE DIRECTOR
NICK MILLER

SENIOR DIRECTOR
DANIEL B. GREENBERG