The 12th fact will blow your mind! Find out incredible facts about Australian kangaroos in this article. These iconic marsupials are very well known for their amazing adaptability to harsh weather conditions in Australia as well as their amazing locomotive features. Join me as we delve into the world of these Australian kangaroos.
Do you know that baby kangaroos are called joeys while females and males are called flyers and boomers respectively? Amazing right?
As we read on, we discover more intriguing facts about these incredible animals as well as their role in the environment.
Overview Facts On Australian Kangaroos
They belong to the Macropodidae family which is Greek for large feet. They are a type of marsupial just like the possums and wombats.
They give birth to their underdeveloped baby a few weeks after mating. However, the baby(Joey) lives in their pouch for a year before they are brought out to the outside world.
They are located in Eastern Australia in rangelands, heathlands, and woodlands. They have a lifespan of about 25 years and come in different colors such as Red, brown, or gray. However, their size and color vary depending on the species of kangaroo.
15 Amazing Facts About Australian Kangaroos
- Kangaroos Use Their Tail For Balance Â
- They Eat Only Vegetables
- They Do Not Have Sweat Glands
- Kangaroos Have Distinctive Mating Rituals
- They Can Endure Drought
- Kangaroos’ Teeth Never Stop GrowingÂ
- They Occasionally Drown Their Enemies
- They Are Skilled In Boxing
- Kangaroos Are The Largest Marsupials On EarthÂ
- They Dwell In Communities
- It Takes A Kangaroo 4 to 5 Weeks to Go Through Pregnancy
- Female kangaroos Have Three Sexual Organs
- They Can’t Hop Backwards
- They Have Pouches for Their Offspring
- Kangaroos Live Everywhere in Australia
1. Kangaroos Use Their Tail For BalanceÂ
The tail of a kangaroo plays a vital role in their hopping movement. It acts as a counterbalance while hopping and helps with balance giving the kangaroo the freedom to move efficiently, thus maintaining stability.
Bear in mind that it’s a supportive structure that aids to their hopping locomotion. It’s not a separate mode of movement. The kangaroo cannot move their hind legs separately while walking, so they depend on their tails for support.
Additionally, kangaroos use their tails to create energy for powerful kicks that they can use for defensive tactics or in fights with other kangaroos.
Kangaroo tails provide a variety of useful purposes in addition to helping them move around. For example, some animals use their tails as stabilizers while standing and rely on them to maintain their bodies in an upright position.
2. They Eat Only Vegetables
They are grazers who mostly eat grasses and shrubs or any other plant-based foods. Additionally, they have a very special digestive system made of four different chambers which makes them digest and obtain nutrients from plants even during food scarcity.
Furthermore, when it comes to their feeding habits, kangaroos and cows have several things in common.
However, kangaroos are more environmentally friendly grazers than cows. Let’s find out why.
 The bacteria in their stomach chambers aid in the fermentation process and reduce methane production while breaking down the cellulose located in plant cells. Unlike kangaroos, cows generate more methane which is responsible for global warming.
Another noteworthy adaptation to Australia’s climate is their eating behavior. To avoid overheating and lessen water loss through perspiration, they graze primarily in the early morning and late evening.
3. They Do Not Have Sweat Glands
This fact is super incredible!. How would an animal with fur staying in Australia coupled with the harsh climate over there, not have a sweat gland right? So how do they sweat?
They lick their forearms until their coat is thoroughly wet using their saliva. Kangaroos like to recline when the sun is too hot and let the special blood vessel network in their forearms cool them off.
4. Kangaroos Have Distinctive Mating Rituals
Male kangaroos, or boomers, use a variety of techniques during courtship and mating rituals to show off their authority and entice a potential mate.
One of the most captivating features of their conduct during courtship is their display of power and agility, which communicates to the female kangaroo, a flyer, that the male has strong genes ideal for siring strong children.
Boomers engage in severe physical battles with one another during mating season in an effort to attract the attention and favor of a nearby flyer. These fights are characterized by forearm holds, wrestling techniques, and strong kicks from the back legs.
So, the flyers watch from a safe distance as the males compete for power, carefully evaluating which boomer seems to be the fittest and most capable. The female’s interest is then gained by the winner, improving his chances of effectively passing on his genes.
Additionally, the male kangaroo also engages in more subdued courtship activities in addition to these stunning physical displays. A boomer might, for instance, smell a flyer’s urine to see if she’s in heat and ready for a mate.
As part of his wooing display, the boomer may also make quiet clucking noises or lightly paw the ground. These less visible behaviors—while just as important to the intricate dance of kangaroo courting and mating rituals—assume greater significance than physical competitions.
5. They Can Endure DroughtÂ
They have the capacity to naturally adjust to drought situations. These kangaroos have an impressive adaptability of taking as little as one-fifth the quantity of water required for an animal of that same size.
Additionally, in order to decrease water loss and preserve water, they have evolved distinctive kidneys that enable them to create concentrated urine.
In addition to this, they have the ability to reabsorb water from their excrement in the colon, significantly reducing waste. Similarly, kangaroos can survive without drinking water during periods of great scarcity by relying entirely on the moisture in their food sources for several months.
Furthermore, they eat succulents and other drought-tolerant plants with high water content, which gives them essential hydration. They can travel great distances in search of food and water because of their sturdy build.
6. Kangaroos’ Teeth Never Stop GrowingÂ
These animals have a unique tooth structure for their diet in consuming fibrous vegetation like grasses and leaves. Their teeth grow continually, which is essential for their existence and prepares them to withstand the constant wear and strain from breaking down strong plant material.
Kangaroo teeth are long-lasting and sturdy, necessary to successfully break down fibrous materials because they are made of a thick substance called cementum.
Two incisors are located in the lower jaw and six are located in the upper jaw of kangaroos. The purpose of their molars is to grind food.
 In order to efficiently break down food before swallowing, kangaroos chew by grinding their teeth in a circular motion. At some point, worn-out molars in front of the jaw are pushed out and are replaced by new molars that are already developing at the back.Â
7. They Occasionally Drown Their Enemies
Kangaroos have evolved a special type of defense over the years to aid in protecting them against predators.
So, when they are pursued by their predators, the kangaroo runs for the water and stays still for the predator to catch up. Immediately after the predator is immersed, the kangaroo leaps into action and uses its strong hind legs to drown the predator.
8. They Are Skilled In Boxing
Kangaroos can be found in small groups known as mop or troops. They play and interact with each other as well as instill authority in their social groups.
Male kangaroos use their front limbs to strike their opponents while standing straight and using their strong tails to maintain balance.
However, this display can go on for a long time depending on their goal and intensity. In order to hone their skills for upcoming struggles for dominance, the young male kangaroos frequently practice boxing.
Also, most of the time, the mature males carry out boxing to get mates.
9. Kangaroos Are The Largest Marsupials On EarthÂ
The red Kangaroo is the largest living marsupial in the entire globe.
Males can reach heights of up to 2 meters (6 ft 7 in) and weights of up to 90 kilograms (200 lb), making them larger than females.
Additionally, they can jump an incredible 25 feet in a single bound because of their strong hind legs and huge feet. The red kangaroo’s extraordinary leaping prowess allows them to explore their vast environment with ease and to avoid their few natural predators.
10. They Dwell In CommunitiesÂ
They stay in groups as mobs in Australia. Although you can also refer to them as troops or courts. In mobs, the males compete for authority and power in an effort to be the only ones to compete with the females.
11. It Takes A Kangaroo 4 to 5 Weeks to Go Through Pregnancy
The kangaroo’s peculiar gestation period is one of the most unexpected things about this animal. A joey is fully developed within a kangaroo pouch and has traits resembling an embryo after roughly 30 to 36 days.
Also, mother kangaroos commonly become pregnant and carry multiple young in their pouches because of the brief gestation period.Â
As stated earlier, most of the female kangaroos might freeze the new embryo in order to delay getting pregnant until the current joey is mature enough to emerge from the pouch.
12. The Female kangaroos Have Three Sexual Organs
Kangaroo females have a fantastic three-vagina layout with two lateral vaginas for transporting sperm and a central vagina for delivering birth.
They can mate with numerous partners as a result of this complex design, and they can even carry embryos from various males.
Additionally, the males have bifurcated penises, which separate into two prongs. The lateral vaginas of the female are precisely matched by these prongs, ensuring efficient sperm transmission.
Furthermore, kangaroos have a distinctive anatomy and exceptional reproductive flexibility.Â
Kangaroo females have the ability to go into embryonic diapause, which enables them to halt the development of their embryos in stressful environments or during times of resource constraint.
Therefore, by controlling the date of their offspring’s birth, kangaroos are able to ensure that they are born when conditions are ideal for their survival and growth.
13. They Can’t Hop Backwards
That’s right, they can’t hop backward. This is because their hind legs are uniquely adapted for hopping forward.
14. They Have Pouches for Their Offspring
The marsupial pouch, which is only found in female kangaroos, acts as a protective space for young kangaroos.
These newborn joeys have the size of a lima bean at birth and are incredibly undeveloped and need to immediately crawl into the pouch to continue growing.
So they are securely confined in the pouch for about eight months.
Additionally, the pouch contains tests that produce milk to the Joey to feed.
However, the milk’s content changes as the joeys mature to satisfy their evolving dietary requirements.Â
The pouch is made up of strong muscles that contract to hold the joeys in place as the mother moves quickly and at a fast rate of speed.
Mother kangaroos have the ability to eject their young from the pouch at times of danger in order to lighten their load and improve their mobility. Once safety has been established, they can go back to reclaiming the joey.
Baby kangaroos leave the pouch as they get older and become more independent, exploring their surroundings while still relying on their mother for comfort and food. Even at that, as the baby kangaroo outgrows the pouch, he or she occasionally goes back to nurse or seek comfort.
15. Kangaroos Live Everywhere in Australia
As we have established, the kangaroos are members of the Macropodidae family and the order Diprotodontia and can be found in a variety of habitats across the world’s smallest continent.
For instance, the eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), survives in the grasslands and forests of eastern Australia.
While other smaller relatives, such as wallabies, live in forests, grasslands, and woodlands.Â
As much as the Koala is one national icon in Australia, the kangaroos are also iconic in Australia.
Furthermore, kangaroos symbols may be seen all around Australia because they play a significant role in the culture of the nation. The fact that they are depicted on the national coat of arms and some of the coinage is most significant.
In Australia, kangaroos are regarded as a common wild game. As a result, it is common to see them being hunted for their meat, leather, or even to defend the grazing grounds of other animals.
In contrast to other conventional meats like beef or pork, kangaroo meat is actually regarded as being beneficial for human consumption. This is due to the leanness and lack of a high-fat concentration in kangaroo meat.
Conservation Of Australian Kangaroos
Due to a decline in habitat and climate change, several kangaroo species, such as the eastern grey kangaroo, are now endangered. The difficulties these kangaroos face have been addressed by a number of conservation initiatives.
For instance, the National Recovery Plan for Eastern Grey Kangaroos, which the Australian government has adopted, focuses on supporting thriving populations by restoring and safeguarding crucial habitats.
Collaborative programs, such as Australia’s Land for Wildlife program, encourage landowners to preserve and improve native flora on their lands, establishing vital areas and habitats.
Furthermore, kangaroos can roam freely between locations thanks to the connection of fragmented habitats by wildlife corridors, which also promote genetic diversity.
Another crucial component of kangaroo conservation is monitoring and mitigating risks.
Conclusion
Australian Kangaroos are amazing marsupials that are known for distinctive features and behaviors. From their powerful hopping movement to their powerful hind legs, as well as pouches are just a few of their incredible traits that we’ve discussed in this article.
Additionally, as they are termed as Australia’s iconic symbols, they still remain as a subject of admiration.
Hope you found this article interesting.
Leave a comment below! Check out the 20 Top Facts About Australian Wildlife You Didn’t Know.
