Militant Marsupial Airs Many Thoughts

The biggest activist in the San Fernando Valley isn’t an irate homeowner. It’s a 16-foot-tall inflatable kangaroo that either is hopping politically or is full of hot air, depending on whom you ask.

The bright fuchsia kangaroo has shown up at various news conferences, pickets and protests in the Valley for eight years. Often the marsupial, made in 1980 for protesting kangaroo slaughters in Australia, is accompanied by a 28-foot-long inflatable whale first used in Save-the-Whale rallies.

The kangaroo and whale have been the Valley’s oddest couple since Agoura sculptor John Perry created them in the late 1970s and early ‘80s.

The kangaroo, designed to be worn as a backpack, has been trotted out to several political functions of late by the Coalition for Planned Growth and Responsive Government, which is backing six of the nine candidates running against Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich in Tuesday’s primary.

The towering beast has appeared at the rallies wearing a placard that says “Developers Have Antonovich in their Pouches.” And last weekend, the whale was plastered with anti-Antonovich slogans, strapped to a flatbed truck and carted around the Valley in a pre-election blitz.

“We don’t have the $1.8 million that Antonovich has collected, so we had to come up with something imaginative,” said Daniel L. Cooper, a North Hollywood landscape designer who has worn the marsupial strapped to his back at several rallies. “Besides, people like it. The only hindrances are sometimes it deflates on us and little kids get exuberant and try to kick or hit it.”

But the kangaroo isn’t universally popular.

“It’s typical of the gang of nine running against the supervisor,” said Roger Scott, Antonovich’s campaign manager. “They have yet to find an issue, so they have to parade out that silly kangaroo.”

Both inflatable animals have been used by local conservation groups for Earth Day celebrations at Cal State Northridge and Pierce College for years, Scott said. They were also used to publicize the winning candidacies of three Agoura Hills City Council candidates running on a controlled-growth platform in 1985, he said.

“We’ve grown rather fond of the kangaroo and ‘FLO,’ which stands for flying leviathan object,” Scott said, conjuring up the image of a biblical sea monster.

The kangaroo and whale are made of ripstop nylon, such as that used to make sails, and are kept inflated by fans hooked up to low-voltage batteries, said Perry, who has consented to their use by various political and environmental groups.

Despite its size, the kangaroo is light and fairly comfortable to wear, Scott said. It attaches to his back with shoulder and waist straps. The pouch is actually a swath of nylon that wraps around his waist and is attached to the kangaroo with Velcro, he said.

The creatures are not the only progeny of their creator. Perry designed the original whale, a 110-foot hot air balloon, when the Save-the-Whale movement began in 1977. The balloon was flown over London Bridge and Mt. Fuji in Japan until Perry decided it was too cumbersome and designed several “little FLOs” that were more portable.

The kangaroo also has several siblings, all different colors, such as bright gold and orange, Perry said. He designed the kangaroo in 1980 to protest the exportation of kangaroo meat and hides from Australia.

The kangaroos and whales are doing duty all over the world, Perry said. Occasionally, he receives newspaper clippings that feature photographs of his creations.

“They’re like my children, I guess,” said Perry, who has no children of his own. “I know we run the risk of appearing immature by using them, but without the money for television commercials, they’re the best a grass-roots uprising can do.”