NEWBORN KANGAROOS

 

Newborn Kangaroo

A female kangaroo is pregnant for 21 to 38 days, and she can give birth to up to four offspring at one time, though this is unusual. At birth, the baby, called a joey, can be as small as a grain of rice, or as big as a bee, at 0.2 to 0.9 inches (5 to 25 millimeters), according to the San Diego Zoo.

Kangaroos Faces

Kangaroos are large marsupials found only in Australia.  They are identified by their muscular tails, strong hind legs, large feet, short fur, and long, pointed ears.  Like all marsupials, a suborder mammal, females have pouches that contain mammary glands, where their young live until they are old enough to emerge. Kangaroos are in the Macropodidae family, which includes  Also included are trees—kangaroo, wallaby, walleroo, quokka and padmelon.  When people think of kangaroos, the four species that usually come to mind are the genus Macropus: antelope kangaroo, red kangaroo, western gray kangaroo and eastern gray kangaroo.  They are sometimes referred to as "great kangaroos" because these species are much larger than other kangaroos.

Shape

According to National Geographic, the largest kangaroo, as well as the largest group, is the red kangaroo.The length of the red kangaroo from head to tail is 3.25 to 5.25 feet (1 to 1.6 m) long.  Its tail adds a further 35.5 to 43.5 inches (90 to 110 cm) to its length and its entire body weighs about 200 pounds. (90 kg).

The smallest kangaroo is the musk rat-kangaroo.  It is only 6 to 8 inches (15.24 to 20.32 cm) tall and weighs only 12 oz (340 g).Its rat-like tail adds another 5 to 6 inches (12.7 to 15.24 cm) in length.

Habitat

Most kangaroos live on the continent of Australia, although each species has a different location.On the other hand the gray kangaroo prefers the forests of Australia and Tasmania.The Antilopine Kangaroo can be found in the monsoonal Eucalyptus woodlands of extreme northern Australia.Tree-kangaroos live in the rainforests of Queensland as well as in the upper branches of trees on the island of New Guinea.

Habits

Kangaroos are the only large animals that jump as their primary means of locomotion. Their springy hind legs and feet are much stronger and larger than their arms (or "forelimbs").  Kangaroos can cover a distance of 15 feet (7 m) in a single hop and can jump at speeds of up to 30 mph (48 kph).  Typically, 20 mph (32 kph) is considered their cruising speed.When feeding, kangaroos use a slow, walking motion, and for this they use their muscular tail as a fifth leg to push off the ground as they move. Kangaroos are social and  They live in groups called hordes, herds.  In the crowd, kangaroos will groom each other and protect each other from danger.

 

 

If the kangaroo suspects that there is danger in the area, it will slam its foot on the ground to alert others.When it comes to blows, the kangaroo will box and kick its opponent.

Diet

Kangaroos are herbivores.  They eat grass, flowers, leaves, ferns, moss and even insects. Like cows, kangaroos regurgitate and re-chew their food before it is fully digested.

 

Descendants

 

 

As the New York Times reports, another interesting fact about the mother kangaroo is that she is capable of sucking two joeys at different developmental stages at the same time along with milk, which contains different nutrients.  However, joeys grow rapidly, and at 14 to 20 months for females or 2 to 4 years for males, they will be fully mature.

 

Kangaroo ancestors

 

There is a rich fossil record for kangaroo ancestors and ancient relatives; Giant kangaroos lasted through the Pleistocene (2.6 million to 11,700 years ago) and the Pliocene (5.3 million to 2.6 million years ago). And about 20 million years ago, the small ancestors of modern kangaroos and a related group of fanged kangaroos ran through dense forests in north-western Queensland, Australia, an area that is now arid.In a study published in February 2016, scientists described a new kangaroo genus, "Cookeroo", and two new species: "Cookeroo bulvidarii, dated to about 23 million years ago, and Cukura hortusensis, which lived between 18 million and 20 million years ago". The bodies of these ancient kangaroos were probably about 17 to 20 inches (42 to 52 cm) long. C. bulwidarri  and C. hortusensis  did not hop, navigate around their forest home and share it with a diverse collection of animals: marsupial moles, feather-tailed possums, ancient koalas and crocodiles.

Conservation status

According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 16 species of tree-kangaroo and rat-kangaroo are listed as either near threatened, endangered, vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The desert rat kangaroo and the Nullarbor dwarf bettong are considered extinct.  Studies show that global warming could kill even the world's smallest kangaroo.  Four species of great kangaroos are not threatened.