Heartbreaking moment kangaroo cradles dying mate in his arms as mum reaches for baby joey one last time

Like the moment that Bambi loses his mum in the Disney classic, these horrendously sad images will have you reaching for your tissue.
Captured on camera underneath a mango tree, the pictures show the moment a male kangaroo bid farewell to its mate - as she reached for her little joey one last time.
The marsupials were pictured on bushland property in River Heads in Queensland on Monday, and photographer Evan Switzer says he knew something was up as soon as he saw the male trying to lift the female.


"He would lift her up and she wouldn't stand she'd just fall to the ground, he'd nudge her, stand besides her... it was a pretty special thing, he was just mourning the loss of his mate," he told Daily Mail Australia.

The little joey comes close to the mum in the pictures, touching her fur.
Switzer -says he's seen plenty of "dead roos - but I've never seen anything like that before."

He says the adult male chased other kangaroos away while the joey "looked kind of confused".
"It would stand by the mother and then hop off and chew some grass, and then come right back again.'
It's unclear how the kangaroo died.

There are several million eastern grey kangaroos like these in Australia.
Fully grown, an adult male will weigh around 10st 5lb and measure about 6ft 6in tall.