Let us know the interesting things about kangaroos
• COMMON NAME: Kangaroo
• SCIENTIFIC NAME: Macropodidae
• TYPE: Mammalia
• DIET: Herbivorous
• AVERAGE LIFE SPAN: 8-25 years
• SIZE: 3 to 8 feet
• Weight: 90kgs
• Speed: 70k/h
- Kangaroos can hop around quickly on two legs or walk around slowly on all four, but they can’t walk backwards. Kangaroos can jump very high, sometimes three times their own height. Kangaroos can swim.
- Humans and some other primates exhibit “handedness,” or the tendency to use one hand more naturally than the other. Scientists once thought this was a unique feature of primate evolution, but more recent research suggests handedness is also common in kangaroos.
- Kangaroos travel and feed in groups known as mobs, troops, or herds. A kangaroo mob may include a handful or several dozen individuals, often with loose ties that allow shifting membership among mobs.
- Hopping is an energy-efficient way for kangaroos to move, helping them cover large distances in arid Australia as they search for food.
- They usually travel at moderate speeds, but they are capable of sprinting when necessary.
- When moving around smaller areas at a slower pace, kangaroos often incorporate their tail as a fifth leg.
- Babies are referred to as joeys, like all other marsupial babies. If you’re into your sports, see how many Aussie sports teams you can find that use the kangaroo and its affiliates as their mascots.
- Female kangaroos sport a pouch on their belly to cradle baby kangaroos, called joeys.
- New born joeys are tiny, measuring just 2.5 centimetres, or about the size of a grape – cute After birth, joeys travel unassisted through their mother’s thick fur to the comfort and safety of the pouch.
- A new born can’t suckle or swallow, so the kangaroo mum uses her muscles to pump milk down its throat. At around 4 months, the youngster emerges from the pouch for short trips, and at ten months, it’s mature enough to leave the pouch for good.
- Kangaroos are capable of breeding all year round, though most mating occurs in late spring and early summer. The marsupials typically live in small groups, during the peak breeding months, they come together and form larger mobs that congregate around resources, such as food, water and access to females.
