True story. Sort of.
“MUUUUM!!!!”
“MUUUUM!!!!”
“A kookaburra stole my sausage roll.”
Hayden stood at the campsite, mouth open with dismay, as a kookaburra flew off with his sausage roll and sat in a nearby tree watching him. It greedily scoffed the sausage roll like it was the only thing it had ever eaten.
“Aaaaaah!”
“Muuuum, a kookaburra stole my sausage roll!”
Have YOU ever been preyed on by a kookaburra? It’s no laughing matter I’ll say. In this story you’ll learn why Australia’s beloved Kookaburra should be labelled as one of the nations’ trickiest predators. This is something you probably wouldn’t know unless you too had been on the receiving end of their villainy. So let’s start from the beginning of the story.
Earlier that day....
The sun was now shining down on a small campsite on the Victorian coastline. The stream running through the edge of the campsite bubbled and three ducks splashed in the water.
The area was perfectly shaded by large leafy trees which lined the stream.
A family of kookaburras rested in the branches completely out of sight from any humans, small animals and insects. Just the way they liked it. Perfect for hunting their prey.
Sammy Snake slithered along the path next to the stream. “Ssssssss” said Sammy on his way out to lunch. “What a beautiful sunny day, perfect for catching mice.”
Morris the mouse heard exactly what Sammy Snake had said and stayed hidden in the shade under a rock. ‘I can’t stay in here’ thought Morris to himself as he was hungry too. It was that time of day and the poor little mouse hadn’t eaten for a couple of hours, knowing full well he needed to eat 20 times a day. Yep, he was starving.
Feeling a little braver Morris poked his head out of the rock. He could hear the crickets nearby and wow did they smell good.
Charlie Cricket sat in the bushes singing with his friend Carly Cricket. The pair were making such a loud noise by the side of stream chirping away without a care in the world. It had been raining and the crickets love nothing more than coming out of the rain to sing.
Little did they know that the kookaburra family was watching from the trees. The two youngest birds didn’t take their eyes off the two crickets. A second later they flew down towards the singing crickets and swiftly picked them up in their beaks as they flew back off into the trees to gobble them up.
“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA said the two kookaburras after their meal. They had done well.
Morris the little mouse watched the whole event from the side of the rock. He ran away quickly knowing full well that he would be next. You see, the kookaburra likes to eat mice as well as crickets.
Daddy kookaburra had been in the trees and hadn’t moved. He was watching Sammy Snake. Sammy Snake was showy and self confident, he was slippery and successful. Sammy Snake thought he was the king of the bush. Well no, he was not the king of the bush. The kookaburra is the king of the bush thought the daddy kookaburra proudly.
Sammy Snake stopped on the path as he’d spotted Morris Mouse and wanted to surprise him. “I’m coming for you Morris” he hissed, pleased with his hunting prowess.
But Daddy Kookaburra had other ideas and flew out of the tree, swooped up Sammy Snake and he gobbled him up when he got back to the tree.
Mummy Kookaburra wasn’t about to be left out, she had her beady eyes on Morris. Can you guess what she did?
That’s right, she flew out of the tree, swooped up Morris Mouse and gobbled him up when she got back to the tree.
“George. George. Quick look.” said the youngest kookaburra to his older brother.”
“Shut up , I’m hunting.”
Down below a mother was setting up a picnic with her child. She laid out the picnic mat and started unpacking food. Sandwiches, sausage rolls, potato salad, strawberries and blueberries. What a treat.
“I’m hungry” said the boy to his mother.
“Don’t worry, it won’t be long. Take one of these” and she passed him a sausage roll.
“Look at these nincompoops!
Standing under the trees they are, ahahahahahah.
Getting out the tasty treats they have, ahahahahahah.
They think they’re having a picnic, they do, don’t they, ahahahahahah.
Ahahahaha we’ll soon change that George, won’t we George!”
“Indeed we will.”
The two birds swooped down with the sausage rolls in their vision. The youngest brother took a sausage roll right off the plate. But George had been watching the boy and flew right at him, stealing the sausage roll right out of his hands just as he was about to take a bite out of it.
“MUUUUM!!!!”
“MUUUUM!!!!”
“A kookaburra stole my sausage roll.”
Now do you believe me that the humble Kookaburra should come with a warning. Not only do they steal your food, eat all kinds of animals and insects, they laugh whilst they’re doing it.
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