Kangaroo

Animals with their own carry bag

If you always thought of the kangaroo as one of a kind, you might be surprised to know that it belongs to a large family with as many as 60 species!

The 6 larger species are called kangaroos and wallaroos while the smaller ones are called rat kangaroos, potoroos, tree kangaroos, pademelons and wallabies.

How do you identify the different large kangaroos? By their noses! A wallaroo's nose has a large black bare patch around it. A red kangaroo has a smaller, boomerang-shaped black bare patch on its nose. The grey kangaroo's nose is covered with hair except for narrow bare bands around the nostrils.

Kangaroos are big-footed marsupials which evolved in Australia. The males of the species are known as boomers, the females as flyers and the young as joeys. The female has a pouch in front of her body in which she carries the young after birth.

Standing to attention!

Kangaroos vary greatly in size. The smallest is the musky rat kangaroo which is about the size of a rabbit. The largest is the 1.6m tall red kangaroo which weighs about 60 kg and is the largest surviving marsupial anywhere in the world.

Kangaroos often stand upright. They have a narrow head with a long nose and long oval ears. They are covered with dense fur and have furry tails. Only the musky rat kangaroo has a bare tail. Their teeth are long and strong, especially the upper incisors.

Leaps and bounds

Physical characteristics of a Kangaroo.
© WWF

The kangaroo's hind legs are Z-shaped like those of other jumping animals. The tail acts almost like an extra limb, providing balancing it as it hops. It jumps forward rather than upward. At rest, the weight of the body is carried by the tripod formed by the hind legs and the tail.

The forelegs of kangaroos are short. The smaller species use them to pick up food and carry it to the mouth. Large kangaroos use their forelimbs when fighting or playing among themselves, but their most powerful method of defence is to kick with their strong hind legs. They fight almost like humans, using the forefeet to hold the antagonist while rearing on the tail and giving powerful kicks with the hind feet.

Kangaroo country
The kangaroo family is is native to the Australian continent and to parts of Papua New Guinea. Most species are found only in Australia. These large-footed marsupials can be found in many types of habitat, from cold-climate rainforests and desert plains to tropical areas.

What do kangaroos eat?
Most kangaroos are exclusively plant-eaters, with grasses forming the bulk of their diet. They also feed on moisture-filled succulent plants. Only the musky rat kangaroo eats insects and worms as well. Most kangaroos forage mainly at night.

Kangaroos can go without water for long periods. Some wallaroos do not drink water even when the temperature is very high. They conserve body water by hiding in hollows during the hottest part of the day.

However, droughts may affect the mating ability of kangaroos. The population of the red kangaroo can fall from a high of 12 million to 5 million in times of drought.

Along for the ride
Kangaroos have short pregnancies. A red kangaroo joey is tiny when it is born - just 2.5 cm long! After it is born, the tiny baby crawls up the fur on the mother's belly and into her pouch. It immediately attaches itself to the teat and suckles for a long time. The mother cleans the inside of the pouch with her lips and often holds it open with her hands.

 

Kangaroo facts

• Most kangaroos have no set breeding cycle and are able to breed all year round. Because they are such prolific breeders, a kangaroo population can increase fourfold in 5 years if it has continuous access to plentiful supplies of food and water.
• Kangaroos are the only large animals to use hopping as a means of movement. The comfortable hopping speed for Red Kangaroos is about 20–25 km/h (13–16 mph), but they can hop as fast as 70 km/h (43 mph) over short distances.