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Western Australian coast on a
Sunday morning, near Bunbury
On
the Australian coat of arms the
Emu and the Kangaroo were
selected as symbols of Australia
to represent the country
progress because they are always
moving forward and never move
backwards.
Kangaroos are the largest
marsupial mammals. They belong
to the Macropodidae family.
Kangaroo moves by hopping on its
hind legs using its tail for
steering and balancing while
hopping at speed up to
40mph/60kmh. When kangaroo is
moving slowly the tail is used
as an extra leg and supports the
kangaroo when it is standing on
its hind legs. Most kangaroos
can only move both back legs
together and not one at a time.
Kangaroos are found in
Australia, Tasmania, and New
Guinea. They are grazing animals
that eat grass, young shoots and
leaves of heath plants and grass
trees. Kangaroos need very
little water to survive and are
capable of going for months
without drinking at all.
A
male kangaroo is called a buck.
It is also commonly called a
"boomer" or an "old man". A
female kangaroo is called a doe,
or a flyer. A baby kangaroo is
called a joey.
Kangaroos have good eyesight but
only respond to moving objects.
They have excellent hearing and
can swivel their large ears in
all directions to pick up
sounds.
Kangaroos are social animals
that live in groups or "mobs" of
at least two or three
individuals and up to 100
kangaroos.
Kangaroos usually have one young
annually. The joey remains in
the pouch for nine months and
continues to suckle until twelve
to seventeen months of age.
Kangaroos can have 3 babies at
one time. One becoming mature
and just out of the pouch,
another developing in the pouch
and one embryo in pause mode.
There are 4 teats in the pouch
and each provides different milk
for the different stages of
development.
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