Kangaroo Facts
Kangaroo Facts
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| Interesting Kangaroo Facts: |
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| Depending on the species, kangaroo can grow 1 to 8 feet in height and reach weight of 40 to 200 pounds. Eastern Gray is the heaviest (around 200 pounds) and the Red Kangaroo is the largest (9 feet) species. |
| Kangaroos can be red, grey or brownish in color. They have large and strong tail and long legs used for jumping. Feet can be used to alert other members of the group about dangerous situation (by strongly hitting the ground). |
| Kangaroos are the only large animals which move by jumping. It is efficient way of motion because it preserves energy. Kangaroo cannot move hind legs separately during jumps. |
| Male kangaroo can leap the distance of 30 feet and 10 feet in height. It can reach the speed of 40 miles per hour through jumping. |
| Kangaroos use tail to balance their movements during jumps. They can also use it for walking, when they walk on all four extremities. |
| Kangaroos are excellent swimmers. When they swim, they are able to move their hind legs separately. |
| Kangaroos are herbivores. They eat grass, shrubs, shoots and tree leaves. Since their stomach is similar (anatomically) with a stomach of ruminants, they regurgitate their food and chew it several times before they swallow it. |
| Kangaroo spends a lot of time in eating, because of the low nutritional value of the plants. They are able to absorb the water from the food and they drink water rarely. |
| Kangaroos are highly social animals. They live in groups called mobs, troops or courts. Group can be small, with only couple of animals, or large, composed of hundreds of animals. Group has a dominate male, usually the oldest and strongest kangaroo in the group. |
| Kangaroo are feisty animals. They fight within the group for dominance. They can also attack non-kangaroo species by using short front limbs with sharp claws and strong hind legs. |
| Females are called does, flyers or jills. Males are called bucks, boomers or jacks. |
| Female kangaroo has one baby per year, called joey. Tiny, hairless baby is born after one month of pregnancy. Although it is small as a grain of rice or as a honeybee, it can crawl to the mother's pouch where it will finish its development after attaching to the nipple which provides milk. |
| Different species spend different amount of time in the pouch. It takes couple of months for baby to develop enough to be able to jump out of the pouch and start exploring the world. |
| If mother have more than one baby, she produces different types of milk: one for the older baby and one for the newly born joey. |
| Kangaroos live 8 to 10 years in the wild and 20 years in captivity. |
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