Many of the 60 or more species of kangaroos can "pause" their pregnancy. This is called "embryonic diapause". 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. This is one of the kangaroo's adaptations for living in a harsh country like Australia.

Culling means that kangaroo numbers are reduced by licenced shooters when their numbers threaten farmers' livelihood. Culling is different from harvesting wild kangaroos, which actively uses the kangaroo meat for the consumer market. Culling is quite a controversial topic, because sometimes, inadvertently, kangaroos are left wounded, not killed, and they may take several days to die.

It is a common myth that the word "kangaroo" means "I don't understand what you're saying". The legend goes that early Australian settlers reportedly asked the indigenous people what the hopping creature was called. The native replied 'kangaru' which in his language meant 'I don't know' or 'I don't understand'.

According to reliable sources, the word "kangaroo" is believed to have come from the Aboriginal word gangurru, a Guugu Yimidhirr word referring to the Grey Kangaroo. Captain James Cook's botanist, Sir Joseph Banks, first recorded the word as "kangaru" when the Endeavour was damaged on the Great Barrier Reef near modern-day Cooktown, and required the crew to stay on the mainland for almost 7 weeks repairing their ship. This gave Banks ample time to make copious notes on the fauna and flora, and to be certain of the Aboriginal word for kangaroo, even though he had trouble translating it into written form.

Yes, tree kangaroos do make sounds. They use various vocalisations in order to communicate. Depending on the species, some of these vocalisations include clicking or "fft-fft" sounds when they are excited or distressed, and hissing or soft trumpeting sounds during courtship.

Yes. Kiwis, emus and cassowaries, together with rheas and ostriches, are from a particular group of flightless birdsknown as ratites. Ratites have wings but the bones in their chests do not have the capacity for flight muscles, which is what a bird needs to fly.

By the time a joey gets out of its mother's pouch, it is like a miniature version of the adult. It has well-formed forelegs and hind legs. It will duck into the mother's pouch head-first, using its forelegs to help it, and often with its hind feet still protruding from the top. It will gradually wriggle itself into a more comfortable position. Joeys rarely stay in the pouch in an upright position, but often have their limbs at awkward angles in various directions.

advantages

it teaches you responsibility

you have a friend

to cheer you up

to play with

to love

disadvantages

lead to abuse

not responsible

never home

not capable

low income / no food or shots

An eastern grey kangaroo can jump as high as 12 meters.

There can be anywhere from a few dozen kangaroos in a mob to over a hundred.

It depends on the species. Larger kangaroos, such as the red Kangaroo, the Eastern grey and the western grey, tend to travel in groups known as mobs. Smaller members of the kangaroo family, such as wallabies, tend to have smaller family groups, and they do not travel like the larger ones do in search of food.

The smallest species, such as the musky rat-kangaroo, tend to be solitary, and not travel in groups at all.

The eyes of a koala are basically positioned in the front of its head, though they are set back a little.

A platypus's footprint will show webbing spreading out between 5 claws.

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No. Kangaroos are marsupials, and marsupials do not undergo metamorphosis. This is usually restricted to insects and amphibians.

Females have two lateral vaginas, which lead to separate uteruses, but both open externally through the same orifice. A third canal, the median vagina, is used for birth. This canal can be transitory or permanent.[13] The males generally have a two-pronged penis, which corresponds to the females' two vaginas.[14] The penis is used only for discharging semen into females, and there is instead a urogenital sac used to store waste before expulsion

A group of Kangaroos can be called a Mob, troop or herd

At birth, a red kangaroo weighs just one gram. It is about 2cm in length, and completely dependent on its mother.

As a general rule, kangaroos do not inhabit the arid and semi-arid areas of Australia when there are grasslands or bushland still available. However, cactus can grow in any area, and the introduced species Prickly Pear is a particularly invasive species that is likely to be found wherever there are kangaroos.

Kangaroos do not have a particular shelter, so there is no name for a kangaroo house. Most species shelter under trees, or sometimes under cliff overhangs. Tree kangaroos shelter in rainforest trees.

Kangaroos do not dig burrows or build nests of any type.

All Austalian natve mammals are protected by legislation. Some species of kangaroos, particularly rock wallabies, are endangered, and protection provides some means to prevent their numbers becoming too much more depleted. However, even prolific species such as the Red kangaroo and both species of Grey kangaroos are protected by law, simply because they are native Australian animals. Note that, even though kangaroos may be harvested and legally culled by licenced hunters under contolled conditions, they are still legally protected.

The red kangaroo is not endangered, nor on the list of threatened animals. It is prolific throughout the inland and the west, and it's numbers range from several hundred thousand to in excess of several million, depending on the environmental conditions from year to year.

The movement of a kangaroo is called bounding, jumping or hopping.