For a long time, even zoologists could not answer the question of how the kangaroo gives birth. Despite the wide distribution of these marsupial animals in Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea and their close proximity to humans, they managed to keep many secrets. Only at the present stage of the development of science, scientists learned how the birth of a kangaroo occurs .
Mating process
Kangaroos do not have a specific season when mating should take place. But reproductive processes in representatives of all species of kangaroos occur very actively.
During the mating season, real fights between males can unfold for the attention of the female. The tail, which actually performs the function of the fifth leg, plays a very important role in these fights. The winner is the right to mate. Despite the developed sense of competition for the female, the maternal instincts in males are completely absent. After the love games end, the male disappears. The female must take care of whether the offspring survives.
Pregnancy and Birth Kangaroo
The period of pregnancy with a kangaroo is very short. Depending on the species, the offspring appears 30-40 days after mating. In order for the birth to take place safely, the female must find a secluded place. Her position during delivery is sedentary, while the tail of the animal is between the legs. It is on him that a newborn baby kangaroo falls.
Toddlers are born very small and translucent. In fact, this is not a fully formed embryo. The maximum body size of youngsters of the largest species of kangaroos is 2-3 centimeters, and weight is 25 grams. Only those organs that help them get into the bag to their mother are well developed. These are long, rather strong forelegs, mouth and nose.
After the delivery ends, the kangaroo licks the path of wool, through which the baby must get to the bag. But the newborn needs to crawl there independently. This is facilitated by the location of the hair on the mother’s belly, as well as the well-developed sense organs. The baby makes the path to the bag by clinging firmly with its front paws to the fur on the body of the female.
First months of life
Once in the bag, the baby sticks to one of the nipples of the mammary glands that are located there. Since he is born without hair, the first few months are not able to independently regulate the temperature of his body. Therefore, for two months he never leaves his mother’s bags.
This body itself has a rather interesting structure. Inside, the bag is smooth, but its edges are protected by thick fur. This allows you to protect offspring from the weather. In addition, the female kangaroo is able to control the muscles of the bag. She herself decides when to release a cub from her. The bag closes tight enough. For example, during swimming, water does not get into it.
At different stages of its development, the cub eats milk, which differs in its composition. The female has four nipples, and her body is capable of producing two types of milk that are absolutely different in composition. The one that the baby drinks immediately after the birth of the kangaroo has antibacterial properties. This is very important, because the immunity of the newborn is not yet fully formed.
"The large family
1-2 months after the birth of the first baby, the female is again ready for mating. When the second cub is born, the first still continues to live in the bag. Thus, at the same time, the female kangaroo cares for two children of different ages. The fabric of the bag is very elastic, and they are able to support the weight of the offspring after they begin to grow.
At the time when the second baby appears, his older brother begins to eat milk from the second nipple, which, as already mentioned, is different in composition.
In some species of kangaroos, for example kvokka, nature provides for the conception of two embryos at once. But first one baby develops, and only after he reaches one month the development of the second begins. If the first fetus dies, the growth of the second begins immediately. Thus, the species under consideration does not need to spend time on additional mating.
The birth of twins or triplets also occurs in other, larger species of kangaroos. Photos taken by scientists prove the existence of such "large families".
As a rule, the baby spends in the mother’s bag for about seven months. Having become quite old, he begins to briefly get out of it and try plant food. However, at the first sign of danger, he again seeks shelter in his mother’s bag. Only after the calf has finally become stronger, does it begin an independent life.
Offspring Care
The functions of the female do not end with giving birth to the offspring and feeding it. It ensures their safety, and also monitors the purity of the bag. Since the little kangaroo does not leave its habitat in the first months of life, all the products of their livelihoods also remain in it. Therefore, the female opens it and simply licks the cubs until they grow up.
She also removes the bag after the kangaroos leave it forever. Often this happens when young offspring no longer fit there. It happens that the mother drives them out on her own.
"Foster mom"
As you know, offspring from different mothers differs in smell, due to which the female recognizes her children. It is believed that kangaroos do not have a tendency to adopt. Nature stipulates that there are two cubs in the bag, so there is no place for others there. However, there have been cases when foreign progeny, with the permission of the female, ate and slept in her bag. Most often this happens when an older cub dies. Thus, the second nipple remains free, but milk continues to be produced.
Scientists have also recorded cases when females changed their babies. The reason for their behavior remains unknown.
Scientists do not have data that the kangaroos are "adopted" by cubs of other animals.