Kangaroo

Habitat Kangaroos are found throughout Australia, inhabiting grassy plains.

Common Predators Dingoes and people.

What Is a Kangaroo?

Kangaroos are one of the largest species of marsupial. The Red and Grey male Kangaroos can reach up to 1.5m in height with an additional 1m long tail. They belong to a group of marsupials called macropods which means ‘great footed animals'. All macropods have strong back legs with long feet. They hop on their back legs when travelling and use their tail as a balance.

Incredibly, Kangaroos are able to maintain a speed of 20 kilometres per hour (kph) for long periods of time. For short periods they can hop at speeds of up to 65 kph. As their speed increases, so does the length of their hop and some Kangaroos reach a distance of up to 6 metres in one hop! Whilst hopping is energy efficient at high speed, at low speed, it is both clumsy and energetically expensive. They have an awkward walk using their hind legs with the tail providing additional support for the front legs. Most kangaroos can only move both back legs together and not one at a time and they can only move forwards, not backwards.

Kangaroos don't make many sounds. They have been heard making grunting and coughing sounds, they sometimes hiss, and females may make clicking or clucking sounds to call their young. A more common sound for kangaroos is a loud thumping they make with their feet to warn others of danger.

Sometimes kangaroos are considered pests due to the damage they cause to crops, resulting in controlled culling of certain species. The culled kangaroos are utilised by industry mainly for leather and pet food.

Where Does a Kangaroo Live?

Red kangaroo's distribution extends throughout inland Australia, occupying mixed habitats of open shrub lands, grasslands, Mulga country, and desert.

The Eastern Grey Kangaroos occupies most of the eastern third of Australia, especially along the coast in damp forest and scrub. They have increased in numbers since European settlement due to pasture improvement, and the provision of watering points for stock.

Western Grey Kangaroos inhabit 60% of western and southern Australia. The southern group can be found in South Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales. They live in woodlands, open forests, coastal heath land, open grassland, scrubland and also can be found on city outskirts and golf courses.

Kangaroos are nocturnal, which means they are active at night. During the day they rest in the shade of rocks or bushes. Those that live in the desert areas simply lie in the sun. To keep cool they drool and lick saliva over their faces and bodies.

What Does a Kangaroo Eat?

Kangaroos survive on grass and other vegetation such as leaves and roots. They swallow their food without chewing it and later regurgitate a cud and chew it.

They are able to go for months without water as they draw enough moisture out of their food to survive. Kangaroos sometimes dig into the ground to find water, excavating a hole deeper than 1 metre.

A Kangaroo's Family Life

Most Kangaroos have no set breeding cycle and are able to breed all year round. Kangaroos are able to adjust their breeding cycles according to the availability of food in the area. If there is plenty of food available a female kangaroo will continue to breed and raise her young.

A newborn kangaroo is less than two centimetres long and a gram in weight and is called a joey. As soon as it is born it struggles through its mother's fur into her pouch. The mother can't touch it because it is so tiny. She licks a path in her fur for it to travel along. Inside the pouch it grabs onto one of four teats and stays physically fused for 4-5 weeks. At 4 months the joey will leave the pouch for short periods and at 9 months will leave the pouch permanently. Whilst a newborn is attached, an older sibling, although still not fully weaned may poke its head into the pouch for milk. Each of the offspring feeds only from its own individual teat and each teats supply different mixes of nutrients depending on the age of the young.

Kangaroos tend to be semi-nomadic and travel in groups called mobs. They are led by an older male who pushes other males out of the mob resulting in the females outnumbering males 5 to 1. These groups are based more on being in the same place than close family ties, although mother and joey do stick together for years after the joey has left her pouch.

Kangaroo's have a life span of up to 6 years in the wild and 20 years in captivity.

Want to Know More?

www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/trade-use/wild-harvest/kangaroo/biology.html

www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au (click on native animal fact sheets / kangaroos and wallabies)