The kangaroo one of Australia’s most recognizable marsupials, there are a handful of species found all over the country, from the until open kangaroo in the far northern reaches to the aptly named Eastern gray, the only large animal to hop as a primary means of travel many can cover 25 feet almost eight meters in a single bound while reaching sprinting speeds as high as 35 miles or 56 km/h , their genus name of macro puss literally means Big Foot , with some standing over 6 feet or 2 meters tall they have the height to match.
kangaroos are social animals that forage together in a group called a troop herd or mob as herbivores they eat a variety of plants and grasses
kangaroos graze similar to cows and goats with the same cud-chewing abilities recently swallowed food can be regurgitated and chewed again before final digestion as they forage along their tail acts as a kind of the fifth leg helping to push off from the ground.
one of their most apparent features however is the female pouch here the offspring called Joey’s spend their time until mature enough to emerge anywhere from 4 to 13 months depending on the species, before hitting the pouch the tiny barely inch long newborn needs to find its way there blind and with the use of its four limbs only it instinctively crawls through its mother’s thick fur, once inside the pouch the newborn begins to nurse when it eventually leaves the pouch it can continue to suckle from its mother for up to a year or more amazingly female kangaroos can be perpetually pregnant females produce two distinct types of milk one higher in fat newborns and another for more matureJoey’s.
kangaroo mothers tend to give birth to females first relegating males – later in life no one knows exactly how or why they do this though the core bond of a mob revolves around clusters of females
