The Unique Kangaroo

I had a chance to get up close and pet a kangaroo at a sanctuary outside Melbourne on my first visit down under. I reached far back to my school days to remember that marsupials are a group of animals whose babies are carried in the mother’s pouch. The fascinating and unique kangaroo is the largest of the marsupials. Their strong muscular tail is used for balance when hopping and as a prop when resting. Hind legs are long and strong while forelegs are short.

A female kangaroo becomes fertile at 18 months, the male at 3 years. The normal gestation period of a baby is ten months; however, if the food supply is not adequate the mother can stall the pregnancy for an indefinite period of time until nature provides an adequate food supply! The baby stays in the pouch 9-11 months. The fetus, not much bigger than a large bean, is born after only a few days, then claws and climbs its way into the pouch where it develops. Mama has two teats in the pouch and it is possible for her to have two babies at different stages of development in the pouch at the same time. In such a case she produces a different kind of milk for each baby! She could also have one in the womb so it is possible for her to raise all three babies at the same time. Now is that unique or what! To the best of my knowledge the kangaroo is the only animal who can do this.

The poor female spends most of her life pregnant and raising children. The baby is called a Joey. Mama can determine the sex of her child, and usually waits to have a male ‘til her later years, as she is the one responsible for raising him and teaching the male to box. She often takes a bit of a bruising during that process. Kangaroos have no herding instinct, each reacting in his or her own way.

The dominant male can live to 12-15 years. He spends his life checking on his females, as they are not synchronous breeders. Their thick strong claws often claw the abdomen when fighting. A dominant male only remains so for 3-4 years before a younger stronger male takes over.

There are 27 species of kangaroos from the smallest 9” kangaroo rat to the red kangaroo, the largest of them all who can cover 47 feet in a good jump/leap. The most common kangaroo is the eastern gray kangaroo, which grows 4-5 feet tall.

I think most people are fascinated with kangaroos because they are not only cute and so different from any other animal, but, except for zoos, they are seen only in Australia.
When on Kangaroo Island, where the animals out number people two to one, we found a baby kangaroo hanging in a cloth sling on a hat tree as we entered the showroom of an eucalyptus oil factory. Its mama had been hit and killed by a truck. The kind people had rescued the Joey. Hanging she was safe and out of the traffic of the store. I think she spent more time in someone’s arms being cooed to than she did hanging in her sling. We all held and petted her. She was just precious and what a thrill. Such remarkable moments make a trip a memorable one.