How diverse the world is, how many amazing plants and animals live on our planet! And such a vivid representative of nature, its next miracle can safely be considered a kangaroo. Surely everyone knows which country the kangaroo lives in. Of course, in Australia. But many may wonder where the kangaroos live, other than Australia. And they also live in New Zealand, New Guinea, on the Bismarck archipelago and in Tasmania. In total, there are more than fifty species of these animals. All of them vary in size and weight. There are giant kangaroos: red and gray, there are kangaroo rats, wallabies - individuals of medium size, and others.
Kangaroo: animal description
This animal belongs to marsupials. The growth of the giant kangaroos is quite impressive. Males grow from one hundred to one hundred and seventy centimeters in height, and weigh from twenty to forty kilograms. Females are slightly smaller, their height is from seventy-five centimeters to one meter, their weight is from eighteen to twenty-two kilograms. The color of the coat is from light gray to reddish red. All kangaroos have a bare black nose and long ears. Thanks to these ears, the animal can catch even the weakest sounds, which allows you to hear the approach of the enemy in time.
The kangaroo has very long hind legs and tail, due to which the animal maintains balance during movement. And they move exclusively by jumping. Thanks to the powerful hind legs, the animal, when running, develops a speed of up to 60 km / h, and when it escapes from a predator, then up to 90 km / h. But with such speed, the animal can run for very short time. Its front legs are short, with very long claws, with the help of which they defend themselves from predators and dig holes in search of water. And thanks to their claws, the males sort out relationships with each other.
The question arises: how long do kangaroos live? And they live for about eighteen years. They reach puberty by about two years. Animals can mate throughout the year. The pregnancy of the female lasts thirty-two days. The baby kangaroo is called joey. He is born blind and without fur, and even completely tiny - two and a half centimeters. Immediately after birth, the cub crawls to the mother’s bag, where it is up to six months. Having reached six months of age, the baby begins to take the first steps, but still returns to the bag. There he lives up to nine months. It should be noted that only females have a bag. There are four nipples in it. The female simultaneously produces several types of milk for different ages of her cub. The fact is that she, having a very young baby, can be pregnant. And in the bag there may be several cubs of different ages at once. The size of the bag is controlled by a female kangaroo - to make it bigger or smaller. Joey is growing, and therefore he needs more space, but when the mother moves, the walls of the bag are compressed so that the cub does not jump out.
Animal lifestyle. Where do kangaroos live in Australia?
Animals live in the rocky areas of the continent. There they feel more secure. Kangaroos are social animals. The family consists of a male and several females. When the cub reaches adulthood, he leaves the family and creates his own. These animals feed exclusively on plant foods. During a drought, they can independently produce water by digging deep (up to one meter deep) holes. They can also get the necessary water from food. Animals are nocturnal. It is at dusk that they go out to pasture in order to refresh themselves with lush grass, in the afternoon they rest in the shade of trees, hiding from the scorching sun. If some animal hears the approach of the enemy, then it immediately starts loudly banging with its hind legs, warning relatives about the danger. From time immemorial, there were no predators on the continent where the kangaroos live, and the animals felt absolutely safe.
But with the arrival of the Europeans on the island, the kangaroo threatened. Some brought dogs went wild - they began to call them dingo dogs. And now it was they who became the main enemies of the kangaroo. When a predator attacks, the animal tries to lure it into the water and drown it. If there is no pond nearby, then the kangaroo reaches the nearest tree, rests against it with its back and inflicts a crushing blow with its hind legs. And the paws are really strong. A kangaroo can easily jump over a three-meter fence. Where the kangaroo lives, there are no other large predators. But animals may suffer another misfortune. Very dangerous for kangaroos are midges that clog their eyes, causing severe inflammation. The animal can go blind!
Kangaroos trust people and are practically not afraid of them. Very often, these animals can be found in the park or in the forest. If you go to the place where the kangaroos live, and you are lucky to meet them, then it is highly likely that the animal will even allow itself to be photographed.
Animal name history
Such an eccentric name - “kangaroo” - the animal received thanks to the discoverers of the continent unknown at that time. When Europeans saw these amazing animals, they asked the natives: "Who is this?" To which the locals replied: "Ken Gu Roo," which translates as "we do not understand." Mariners thought this was the name of an animal. So the name "kangaroo" and stuck to it.
Kangaroo island
Near Australia is an island where kangaroos live. This territory has not yet been fully developed by humans, because animals feel very good here. The animal world is represented in this area in its original form. The number of kangaroos on the island is very large.
Wallaby
Wallaby is a marsupial animal belonging to the Kangaroo family. It is an exact copy of a gigantic kangaroo, only in a reduced form. In height, these animals reach seventy centimeters and weigh up to twenty kilograms. There are up to fifteen species of this animal, some are on the verge of extinction - such as striped wallabies. From the once numerous species, almost nothing was left. They are found only on two islands located off the west coast of Australia. There are mountain wallabies, and there are marsh ones. In appearance and habits, they do not differ - only in terms of habitat.
Where do kangaroos wallaby live?
Mountain wallabies live in forest thickets and are found throughout Australia. They are led like their brothers, giant kangaroos, mostly nocturnal. They feed on lush grass, tree bark and young shoots. Swamp wallabies live on moist plains.
Interesting Facts
Surprisingly, wallaby can be kept as a pet. They are easily tamed. But for this you need to take the animal, not yet weaned from milk, and independently feed him from the bottle. Otherwise, the animal will be very difficult to tame.
Kangaroo rat
The second name of the animal is musky kangaroo. This small animal is small. His body reaches a length of forty centimeters, a third is the tail. It is covered with dark thick fur, on which red specks are visible. The fur on the hind legs is dark brown, but the feet are completely bare. In appearance, the animals are very similar to ordinary kangaroos. Animals live in inaccessible thickets along the river banks. These animals lead a daily lifestyle, lazily delving into plant waste in search of insects, earthworms and plant tubers. They also eat grass, tree bark, and palm fruits. Females carry their cubs in a bag.
Kangaroo kangaroo
It is a marsupial the size of a rabbit. His coat is long enough, the upper part is dark with black specks, and the coat on his stomach is off-white. This kind of kangaroo got its name because of the comb of shaggy hair of black color on the part of the tail. The length of his body is sixty-seven centimeters, of which thirty-one is the tail. The animal digs in the ground recesses, which are lined with grass and branches, it turns out a kind of nest. The crested kangaroo selects the place for the bed in the dense thickets of grass, so it is very difficult to see it in the wild. During the day, the animals lie in the nests, and at night they go out for feeding. The animals feed on grass and plant roots, which are very cleverly dug from the ground.
Australia, the country where kangaroos live, is an amazing place. And if you have the opportunity to visit this wonderful continent, go. At least in order to see with your own eyes a wonderful kangaroo.