Kangaroos and Their Interesting Ways

Author: Patrick Daniels

Kangaroos are possibly Australia's most famous animal. They are a marsupial and only found on this continent and come in a variety of sizes, the Red Kangaroo is the largest wallabies are smaller members of the kangaroo family. The Kangaroos should also be considered a danger to cars while driving down the roads in Australia.

Kangaroos, especially larger species, have adapted to the Australian landscape and weather. They hop, as this is the most efficient way to travel at a decent speed. The energy of the Kangaroo's bounce is stored in their leg tendons, While the intestines bounce up and down, emptying and filling the lungs. This efficiency is important when the kangaroo is required to travel long distances in search of food. A comfortable speed for a kangaroo is around 25 kilometres an hour, but they have been known to go as much as 70 kilometres over short distances; faster then most cars on the road.

The name kangaroo is from an Aboriginal word gangurru. Male kangaroos are also known as bucks, boomers, jacks or old men. The female kangaroos are known as does, flyers or bills, while their young is known as joeys. Kangaroos have muscular hind legs, large feet and a long muscular tail for balance. In order for the kangaroo to walk at slower paces they do what is considered a crawl walk. This is simple when they put their tails on the ground to form a tripod and lift their hind legs up bringing them forward.

The joeys are born after 31 days and continue their development in the mothers pouch, known as the marsupium. They will remain in the pouch to continue postnatal development and will only come out for short periods of time until they are eighteen months. This whole time their main food source is from the mother kangaroo. The kangaroos evolution is a very interesting development as they mother has the ability to freeze embryo development in periods of drought or in areas with a lack of food source. Female kangaroos will also not conceive in periods of drought and male kangaroos will not produce sperm during these times.

By nature the kangaroo is a shy animal. They box amongst other kangaroos, however they are no danger to humans. A kangaroo will only attack a human unless provoked. The main danger that humans face, when talking of kangaroos is if they accidentally hit one while driving. These animals are extremely heavy ad the force of impact can total a car. It is important to look for kangaroo crossing signs while driving on the Australian roads. It is also extremely important to take out renters insurance when using a car hire for your Australian travels.

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