Kangaroos

Yes, a kangaroo is a consumer.

A producer makes (synthesizes) its own sugars from carbon dioxide and water. Producers include, among others, green plants and (much less conspicuously) bacteria, for example in abundance in mudflats.

Consumers cannot make their own sugars, and eat either producers or other consumers.

Because a kangaroo eats plants and not animals, it is called a first-order consumer.

Not all Australians can quite bring themselves to eat kangaroo. Some Australians do eat kangaroo meat, but many think about an innocent kangaroo bounding free, and they can't bring themselves to eat something like that.

Nonetheless, the benefits are:

• kangaroo meat is very lean, being low in cholesterol and with less than 2% fat
• kangaroo meat is high in protein and minerals, especially iron and zinc
• studies indicate that people who eat kangaroo meat in place of "normal" red meat have lower risk of damage to their cardiovascular system
• kangaroos are plentiful on the Australian continent, so the decision has been made that they might as well be farmed commercially
• it is commercially viable: the European market for kangaroo meat increased by 30 percent following the 2001 outbreak of foot and mouth disease on that continent - so it is not just Australian who eat kangaroo.

Another health benefit:

Australia's chief Scientific body, the CSIRO, has determined that kangaroo meat could well be the highest known source of the healthy fat CLA (conjugated linoleic acid). Whilst CLA is found in dairy, beef and lamb products, the CLA found in kangaroo meat may be as much as five times as great. Research indicates that CLA has potential anti-cancer and anti-diabetes properties, as well as helping reduce the incidence of obesity and high blood pressure.

Many people think the edible animals are limited to a few types of birds, cattle, swine and sheep. Some Australians eat kangaroo. The Japanese and Inuit eat whale. In Canada seals, bison, moose, elk and deer appear on the menu. Other locations in North America feature game animals as diverse as raccoon, 'possum, musk rat, bear, squirrel, rabbit. In Europe horse is available. In Asia many more exotic animals such as dog are eaten.

In all these cases the animals are eaten for the same reasons:

• It is culturally permissible to eat them
• They are available
• They taste good (at least to some people)

Indeed: why shouldn't Australians eat kangaroo?

It depends on the species.

Bennett's Tree Kangaroo and Lumholtz's Tree Kangaroo both live in the rainforests of Cape York in Far North Queensland, Australia.

There are also five species of tree kangaroo on the island of New Guinea, which comprises the countries of Papua New Guinea and Irian Jaya (Indonesia). These tree kangaroos are commonly found in the mountainous rainforests of the island. Several species live in lowlands, for example, the Lowlands Tree-Kangaroo.

Red kangaroos have a number of unique features which help it to survive in Australia, a country that suffers frequent droughts.

• The mother kangaroo spends most of her adult life pregnant, but in drought times, she has the ability to indefinitely "freeze" the development of the young embryo until food sources are replenished.
• The mother can also produce two different types of milk to suit the needs of two different aged joeys. She might have a more mature joey that spends less time in the pouch, while a very young embryo has attached itself to a teat. Each joey has different milk requirements - which the mother is able to supply.
• Kangaroos are able to travel long distances at a high speed, expending very little energy. They are very energy-efficient, and this is linked directly to the physical action of bringing their hind legs up with each hop. Every hop literally refills the lungs.
• Kangaroos have large, strong tendons in their hind legs which act as "springs". The springing motion requires less energy than running does, so kangaroos are able to bound for longer distances than other mammals with the standard four legs can run. They have strong back legs and elongated hind feet for bounding.
• Kangaroos are strong swimmers. Many parts of Australia are subject to seasonal flooding rains, but the kangaroo's body shape does not prohibit it from swimming. In fact, kangaroos have been observed swimming to offshore islands off the southern coast. This is the only time the kangaroo's hind legs move independently of each other.
• Kangaroos are more active in the cooler hours of the early morning and the late afternoon. During the heat of the day they are more sedentary, lying around quietly and chewing their cud.
• The teeth of the kangaroo are continuously being worn down by the tough grasses they eat. Instead of continuously growing, once a kangaroo's front teeth are worn down completely, they fall out, and the back teeth move forwards to take the place of the worn front teeth. Kangaroos have four such pairs of chewing teeth.
• Kangaroos have the ability to hear very well: kangaroos can twitch their ears. around to determine the direction of specific sounds, much as a cat does
• They have long, strong tails for balancing.
• Kangaroos are able to move their ears at a variety of angles to hear if there is any danger close to them.
• In hot weather, kangaroos use saliva to cool down, licking their forearms where there is little muscle tissue and blood veins run close to the surface. When the saliva evaporates from the fur, it cools down the kangaroo.

Kangaroos are uniquely adapted to the Australian environment, which can be anything from lush and fertile to harsh and drought-ridden.

• The mother kangaroo spends most of her adult life pregnant, but in drought times, she has the ability to indefinitely "freeze" the development of the young embryo until food sources are replenished.
• The mother can also produce two different types of milk to suit the needs of two different aged joeys. She might have a more mature joey that spends less time in the pouch, while a very young embryo has attached itself to a teat. Each joey has different milk requirements - which the mother is able to supply.
• Kangaroos are able to travel long distances at a high speed, expending very little energy. They are very energy-efficient, and this is linked directly to the physical action of bringing their hind legs up with each hop. Every hop literally refills the lungs.
• Kangaroos have large, strong tendons in their hind legs which act as "springs". The springing motion requires less energy than running does, so kangaroos are able to bound for longer distances than other mammals with the standard four legs can run. They have strong back legs and elongated hind feet for bounding.
• Kangaroos are strong swimmers. Many parts of Australia are subject to seasonal flooding rains, but the kangaroo's body shape does not prohibit it from swimming. In fact, kangaroos have been observed swimming to offshore islands off the southern coast. This is the only time the kangaroo's hind legs move independently of each other.
• Kangaroos are more active in the cooler hours of the early morning and the late afternoon. During the heat of the day they are more sedentary, lying around quietly and chewing their cud.
• The teeth of the kangaroo are continuously being worn down by the tough grasses they eat. Instead of continuously growing, once a kangaroo's front teeth are worn down completely, they fall out, and the back teeth move forwards to take the place of the worn front teeth. Kangaroos have four such pairs of chewing teeth.
• Kangaroos have the ability to hear very well: kangaroos can twitch their ears independently around to determine the direction of specific sounds, much as a cat does
• They have long, strong tails for balancing.
• In hot weather, kangaroos use saliva to cool down, licking their forearms where there is little muscle tissue and blood veins run close to the surface. When the saliva evaporates from the fur, it cools down the kangaroo.

These adaptations are the same for most species of kangaroos, including Red Kangaroos, Grey Kangaroos, wallaroos and wallabies.