AUSTRALIAN KANGAROOS

The word "kangaroo" is derived from the Guugu Yimithirr word gangurru, referring to grey kangaroos. A common myth about the kangaroo's English name is that "kangaroo" was a Guugu Yimithirr phrase for “I don't understand you”. The Kangaroo myth was debunked in the 1970s by linguist John B.Haviland in his research with the Guugu Yimithirr people. A kangaroo is a marsupial mammal from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning 'large foot').

Kangaroos are often colloquially referred to as "roos". Male kangaroos are called bucks, boomers, jacks, or old men. Females are does, flyers, or jills. The young ones are joeys. The collective noun for kangaroos is a mob, troop, or court.

BABY KANGAROO - JOEY

Basically there are four macropods which are known as kangaroos. 1. The Red Kangaroo (Macropus rufus), the largest surviving marsupial in the world, thrives in the arid and semi-arid regions that lie in the center of the continent. 2. The Eastern Gray Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) is a common sight along the fertile eastern part of Australia. 3. Western and South Australia and the Darling River basin are home to the Western Gray Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus). 4. Most of Australia's grassy plains and woodlands in the north are inhabited by the Antilopine Kangaroo (Macropus antilopinus).

PARTS OF THE BODY

 TAIL Very muscular terminal appendage; it helps maintain equilibrium while jumping and, with the back legs, supports the body at rest.  POUCH Located on the female’s belly and having nipples; the newborn continues to develop inside it. In some species, the pouch is dorsal or absent.  THIGH Upper portion of the hind limb; its muscles provide the kangaroo with strong propulsion.  FOOT Powerful terminal end of the limb bearing four digits; it supports the body and has a motor function.  DIGIT Articulated limb at the end of the foot. The kangaroo does not usually have a thumb. The 2nd and 3rd digits are fused, while the 4th digit ends in a strong sharp claw.  CLAW Pointy sharp corneous structure used especially to scratch and claw adversaries during combat.

 FORELIMB Poorly developed articulated limb ending in five clawed digits; the kangaroo uses it to feed and to defend itself.  SNOUT Long front portion of the head having mainly a highly developed olfactory function.  PINNA Movable outer portion of the ear made of cartilage and located on the side of the head to capture sounds.  FUR Hair covering the body, mainly for maintaining body temperature; the fur insulates against cold and heat.  HIND LIMB Extremely muscular articulated limb ending in four digits allowing the kangaroo to move swiftly by powerful bounds and to strike its enemies.

A Kangaroo's environment is hot, and dry. Getting from point A to point B must be quick and efficient. Kangaroos have developed tougher skin and stronger hind legs to survive the extreme heat and to move around in an easy manner. They've developed pouches to keep their joeys protected and with them.

 Kangaroos are the only large animals to use hopping as a means of locomotion.  The comfortable hopping speed for a red kangaroo is about 20–25 km/h, but speeds of up to 70 km/h can be attained over short distances, while it can sustain a speed of 40 km/h for nearly 2 km.  This fast and energy-efficient method of travel has evolved because of the need to regularly cover large distances in search of food and water, rather than the need to escape predators.  To move at slow speeds, it uses its tail to form a tripod with its two forelimbs, then raises its hind feet forward. Kangaroos are adept swimmers, and often flee into waterways if threatened by a predator.

 Kangaroos have chambered stomachs similar to those of cattle and sheep.  They regurgitate the vegetation they have eaten, chew it as cud, and then swallow it again for final digestion.  Different species of kangaroos have different diets, although all are strict herbivores.

 Kangaroos are found all over the Australian continent, but their exact location depends on the species. There are over 60 species of kangaroos in Australia. They are most commonly found in bush land and woodland, open forests, coastal heat land, grasslands, melee scrub, Malaga scrub and scrubland.  Most kangaroos live on the ground and are distinguished from other animals by the way they hop on their strong back legs.

 Kangaroos of all sizes have one thing in common: powerful back legs with long feet. All female kangaroos have front- opening pouches that contain four teats. This is where the ‘joey’, or young kangaroo, is raised until it can survive outside the pouch.  A kangaroo’s tail is used to balance while hopping and as a fifth limb when moving slowly.  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 five years if it has continuous access to plentiful food and water.

 As with all marsupials, the young are born at a very early stage of development – after a gestation of 31–36 days. At this stage, only the forelimbs are somewhat developed, to allow the newborn to climb to the pouch and attach to a teat.  When the joey is born, it is about the size of a lima bean.  The joey will usually stay in the pouch for about nine months before starting to leave the pouch for small periods of time. It is usually fed by its mother until reaching 18 months.  The composition of the milk produced by the mother varies according to the needs of the joey. In addition, the mother is able to produce two different kinds of milk simultaneously for the newborn and the older joey still in the pouch.

FACTS  There is also a link between the hopping action and breathing: as the feet leave the ground, air is expelled from the lungs; bringing the feet forward ready for landing refills the lungs, providing further energy efficiency.  Kangaroos are nocturnal which means that they are most active by twilight and in the night.  They are adept swimmers, and when pursued in water, they drown their predators by dunking the predator underwater with their powerful forepaws.  Kangaroos have powerful hind legs and a muscular tail that functions like a tripod-leg for balance and they cannot move backwards.

 There are 40 different types of kangaroos. The smaller ones are usually called wallabies.  The largest is the red kangaroo. It stands taller than a man and can weigh 85 kg. It is the largest marsupial in the world.  Though kangaroos are in huge numbers all across Australia, at least six species have become extinct since the arrival of the Europeans and several other species are endangered.  The most unique feature, common to all marsupials, is the stomach pouch or marsupium. This pouch remains the home for joeys, during postnatal development. The young kangaroos are born the size or a lima bean, after a 36-day gestation period.  The marsupial enjoys an average life expectancy of anywhere between 4 and 6 years. 

BY – Shlokaa Ashi Paras Shambhavi Mehtab Aditi Aayush Shubhamb Ayan Meetali and Richa