Kangaroos

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.

The Red Kangaroo is found throughout the interior of the Australian continent - not the dry desert but in semi-arid desert areas - and on part of the Western Australian coast.

Not in the wild, because kangaroos are only found in Australia and Tigers and Lions are found in Asia and Africa.

Although through a kangaroos in a cage at a zoo with a hungry tiger and I'm betting it would eat it.

The kangaroo is a mammal, and all mammals belong to the taxonomic domain of Eukarya, which are characterised by having cells with nuclei. Eukarya covers all organisms in the Kingdom Animalia, as well as the Kingdoms Plantae, Fungi and Protista.

Kangaroos are related to all other mammals of the Macropod family (or kangaroo family), Macropodidae, of which there are over 60 species. The kangaroo family encompasses other marsupials such as the wallaby, potoroo, bettong, pademelon, rat-kangaroo, tree kangaroo and wallaroo.

Kangaroo joeys live on mothers' milk. kangaroo milk is the only formula suitable for these animals.

Sometimes, well-meaning people rescue young joeys from a female that may have been killed by a car or another means, and they attempt to keep the joey alive by giving it ordinary milk or baby formula. These other types of milk have been found to contribute to illness and disease in kangaroos later in life. If one rescues a joey, one must find a registered wildlife carer (most vets will be able to tell one whom to contact), as these people understand the needs of rescued Australian wildlife. Other people must never try to look after the joey themselves; it will die.

The main predators of the tree kangaroo are quolls, dingoes (in Australia) and pythons. Wild dogs are also a major threat. Tree kangaroos of New Guinea are also threatened by the New Guinea harpy eagle.

The joey is in the mother kangaroo's pouch for about eight months (235 days), depending on the species. The young Joey continues to suckle until it is about 12 months old.

Red kangaroo numbers are not decreasing dramatically overall. Numbers of both the Red kangaroos and Bith Soecies of Grey kangaroos fluctuate widely from year to year, depending on whether or not there is a drought at that time. Red kangaroos are still plentiful, and after a couple of good seasons, their numbers can rise to plague proportions.

All animals are native to somewhere.

Kangaroos are native to Australia, while tree kangaroos are native to Australia and the island of New Guinea, which comprises the countries of Papua New Guinea and Irian Jaya (Indonesia).

Animals that have pouches belong to the class of mammals called Marsupials. Marsupials include kangaroos, bandicoots, wombats, banded anteaters, koalas, opossums, wallabies, Tasmanian devils, and many other species that I cannot name.

Kangaroo populations vary widely throughout Australia from season to season, according to the environmental conditions. In 2011, there were approximately 638 185 red kangaroos and 1.177 million western grey kangaroos in Western Australia. This does not include any wallaby species found there, or pademelons.

• A Tree kangaroo has a long, cylindrical non-prehensile tail, which is used as a rudder as it jumps from branch to branch in the trees - this helps it to keep its balance.
• It has larger forelegs and smaller hindlegs than kangaroos and wallabies - these features help it to climb and leap from branch to branch.
• It has shorter, rounded ears compared to its ground-dwelling counterparts.
• It feeds on fruits and leaves of the trees in which it lives, rather than ground-dwelling grasses.
• It has a red or mahogany-brown back with a yellow face, belly and feet. The long cylindrical tail is mostly yellow. Its colour enables it to camouflage effectively within rainforest trees.

• Emus and kangaroos are both warm blooded vertebrates.
• They breathe using a respiratory system involving nose, mouth and lungs.
• They are native to Australia.
• Neither creature is able to take a step backwards.
• Both feature on the Australian coat of arms.

Red kangaroos are herbivores, primarily eating grass and other vegetation, feeding in the early morning and late afternoon/evening towards sunset. Besides grass, they eat young shoots and tender leaves of native shrubs. They enjoy grains as well, but being herbivorous, they do not eat any other animals.

Red kangaroos are grazing animals, and they will regurgitate their food to chew like cattle chew their cud.

Kangaroos are very strong swimmers. In Australia's southern areas, they frequently commute from off-shore islands. Despite their apparently awkward shape, their powerful hind legs propel them along. However, it is not known how fast they can swim. Given that they can easily swim a kilometre or so, it can be assumed that they are not particularly slow swimmers.

Unlike their ground-dwelling counterparts, tree kangaroos are generally solitary animals. A male and female may occupy the same space outside of breeding season, but these animals do not live in groups or colonies.