The harsh life of a large red kangaroo. Large red kangaroo Full growth of a red giant kangaroo

The red kangaroo lives almost all over Australia. It has a 3-meter body length (of which, about 90 cm is the length of the tail), and weighs up to 90 kg. Females are smaller than males, and their weight is 30 kg. The animal has a powerful body, strong muscular hind legs, a strong and thickened tail. Thin, but very grasping forelegs, which are much shorter than the hind limbs.

There are five fingers on the front, four on the back with very sharp long claws. The head is small and elongated towards the nose, with attentive eyes, with large and all-clear ears. The color is brown-red or smoky blue, the paws and tail are almost white, and the belly is lighter than the main tone.

They eat plant foods: grass, leaves, fruits and grains. They have adapted well to drought conditions and can go many days without water.To escape from the wild heat, kangaroos often breathe with their mouths open and try to move less.

They lick their paws, which also cool the body. It was noticed by observers that during a long drought, they dig small holes in the sand, where they hide from the scorching sun. During the day they hide in the shade and doze, and at dusk they go out to pastures.

The red kangaroo is a cautious and shy animal. In case of danger, it runs away, developing a speed of up to 50 km / h. But he cannot withstand a high pace for a long time, he quickly gets tired. He jumps 10 meters in length, and maybe go for a record - 12 meters.

They live in herds, numbering 100 or more animals. Of course, the male is at the head and he has several females, the rest are children. If an individual appears on the horizon, then a fight arises between two males for the right to possess a harem.

Fights are fierce and terrible: pushing off with a powerful tail and hind legs, the male lunges with his hind legs at an opponent, and we already know that there are sharp claws there. They also fight with the so-called fist fight. The strongest male wins, and the life of the herd continues. Females have a pouch for bearing offspring. The males do not have a bag.

The female can bring offspring without interruption. The first cub has matured and is already running around, the second is sitting in a bag, and the third is in the uterus. Pregnancy lasts about a month. As a rule, one, less often two or three cubs are born. If there are two or three of them, then the one who first got to the mother's nipple survives. The life of the rest is unlikely.

It has a pouch on its belly for carrying offspring. A strong muscle around the entrance of the bag prevents the baby from falling out. Mom manages her bag herself and clearly knows when to open it and when to close it.A born embryo weighs about 5 grams and is only 25 mm long. The female, 2 hours before giving birth, carefully got out her bag, preparing a clean place for the cub to grow and exist.

A born baby has the rudiments of hind legs and a tail, eyes are closed, there are no ears. Only the front legs with sharp tiny claws and the nose, or rather his nostrils, are developed, by smell he will get into the mother's bag along her stomach. The child has a difficult path ahead.

The cub crawls slowly, clinging to the mother's fur with its paws, and looks more like a caterpillar or a worm. The whole journey will take about five minutes. When he reaches his destination, he will be rewarded. The cub immediately finds one of the mother's nipple of four and grabs it. He himself does not know how to eat, mother supplies milk herself, by contracting muscles. A naked, blind cub overcomes the first difficult path immediately after birth for the sake of life.

In the mother's bag, the baby is warm and well. Thanks to nutritious fat milk, it grows quickly. Soon the eyes will open, the ears will form. At the age of five months, a cute and very curious muzzle of a kangaroo protrudes from the mother's bag. He's got a little hairy already. His grown ears move and catch the sounds of nature.

A month later, he makes the first forays out of the "home", of course, with the permission of his mother. The cub is strong and weighs 3.5 kg. He carefully looks around, jumps, tries to eat grass, and his mother watches him. A little danger - immediately in the bag. And now he has already grown well and got stronger, it’s a bit crowded in his bag. At this time, the female may have another cub, and the older one leaves the cozy shelter. True, he is not given his mother's attention and will be with her for a long time.

The large red kangaroo is the largest of its kind. This beast lives throughout the continent, with the exception of the fertile lands of the regions in the south, the east coast, the western desert regions and tropical forests in the north.

Kangaroos can go without water for a long time, because of the arid climate. They feed on plant foods that grow on natural pastures. The main diet includes herbs, cereals and flowering plants.

In winter, the climate is more comfortable for kangaroos, they can safely jump around their territory. Males arrange demonstration fights for females. Cubs frolic carelessly, although the first year of their life is very difficult. The enemy of the kangaroo does not sleep and at any moment can overtake them by surprise. This enemy is the Dingo dog. They pose a danger not only to kangaroos, but also to other inhabitants of the savannah. This is not a pet.

Dingo needs to overtake kangaroos, because these marsupial giants are very fast. They can develop incredible speed, namely up to 65 kilometers per hour, strong hind legs help them with this. One energetic jump of a kangaroo can be more than nine meters.

With the onset of summer, it becomes much more difficult for large red kangaroos to live. The fact is that the temperature in Australia at this time of the year rises to + 40C, while there are very few trees on a huge plot. From early morning, kangaroos go in search of food, they have very little time, because after a while the desert will turn into real hell. When the sun bakes especially hard, these animals hide in the shade, but this is extremely small. Fleeing from overheating and therefore from death, kangaroos copiously cover their front paws with saliva, as arteries pass there. By doing this, they cool their body temperature.

Female kangaroos give birth to a tiny baby only two centimeters long. The baby is not born in a pouch. It emerges from the womb and begins its long journey towards the pouch. In time, it takes him about three minutes. A kangaroo clings to its mother's fur with its front paws. Its hind limbs are not yet developed, and in general the cub is still deaf, blind and bald. After arriving in the bag, the baby clings to one of the mother's nipples, and she has four of them. Milk is secreted by the action of a special muscle. The nipples change shape - they grow together with the cub, in each nipple the milk is different in composition and corresponds to the age of the cub. In total, a female kangaroo can simultaneously feed up to four cubs, despite the fact that twins are extremely rare for this species of animal.

The next two and a half months, the kangaroo will be formed in the bag. After this period, the baby jumps out of the bag and returns to the mother in case of danger and fatigue. When the cub reaches too large a kangaroo in the right to drive him out of the bag, this usually happens at the age of eight months. After that, the female can immediately give birth to the next baby. Also, the kangaroo has the ability to stop the development of the embryo in the uterus. This happens if the bag is occupied or if there are unfavorable conditions for breeding. The pocket is released and the pregnancy continues to develop.

Male large red kangaroos are much larger than females. Their body length reaches 1.4 meters and weighs 85 kilograms. But the growth of females is only 1.1 meters and weighs 35 kilograms.

Recently, scientists have discovered a quality in kangaroos that puts them on a par with primates. It turned out that they use their upper limbs with different loads. In science, there is a term "predominant hand" - this is a sign that appeared due to the unequal development of motor skills between the upper limbs. The evolutionary reason for its appearance has not been precisely established. According to the most common theory, this was the result of the division of labor between the hemispheres of the brain. The same hemisphere is responsible for the work of the speech and motor centers (in most people, the left), which leads to the predominance of right-handers.

While observing kangaroos, the researchers noticed that a large number of animals use their left paw for plucking branches, washing and other basic actions. This discovery calls into question the theory of evolutionary development of the “predominant hand” in primates: apparently, it is not only a matter of the division of labor by the hemispheres of the brain.

Kangaroos are considered the best jumpers among all animals living on Earth: they are able to jump over a distance of more than 10 m, the height of the jump can reach 3 m.

When jumping, they develop a fairly high speed - about 50 - 60 km / h. To make such intense jumps, the animal pushes off the ground with strong hind legs, while the tail plays the role of a balancer, which is responsible for balance.

Thanks to such amazing physical abilities, it is almost impossible to catch up with a kangaroo, and if it does happen, in dangerous situations the animal stands on its tail and makes a powerful blow with its paws, after which the attacker is unlikely to have a desire to harm him.

AT Australian red kangaroo is considered an invariable symbol of the continent - the image of the animal is present even on the national emblem of the state.

Jumping, the red kangaroo is able to reach speeds of up to 60 km / h

Description and features of the red kangaroo

The body length of the red kangaroo ranges from 0.25-1.6 m, the tail length is 0.45-1 m. Growth of a large red kangaroo is approximately 1.1 m in females and 1.4 m in males. The animal weighs 18-100 kg.

The record holder for size is giant red kangaroo, and the unconditional heavyweight is the eastern gray kangaroo. Marsupials have thick, soft hair, which is colored in red, gray, black, as well as their shades.

Red kangaroo in the photo looks rather disproportionate: the lower part is much more powerful and developed compared to the upper part. has a small head with a short or slightly elongated muzzle. Kangaroo teeth are constantly changing, fangs are present only on the lower jaw.

The shoulders are much narrower than the hips of the animal. The forelimbs of the kangaroo are short, there is practically no fur on them. On the paws there are five fingers, which are equipped with sharp claws. With the help of the front paws, marsupials grab and hold food, and also use them as a brush for combing wool.

Hind legs and tail have a powerful corset of muscles. There are four fingers on each paw - the second and third are interconnected by a thin membrane. Claws are present only on the fourth fingers.

Big red kangaroo they move very quickly only forward, they cannot move backward due to the specific structure of their body. The sounds that marsupials make are vaguely reminiscent of clicking, sneezing, hissing. In case of danger, the kangaroo warns its brethren about it by hitting the ground with its hind legs.

The growth of the red kangaroo can reach 1.8 m

Lifestyle and habitat

The red kangaroo is nocturnal: during the day it sleeps in grass burrows (nests), and after dark it actively searches for food. Red kangaroos live in the forage-rich shrouds and pastures of Australia.

Marsupials live in small flocks, which include a male and several females, as well as their cubs. When there is a lot of food, kangaroos can gather in large flocks, the number of which exceeds 1000 individuals.

Males protect their flock from other males, as a result of which fierce fights often occur between them. Red kangaroos constantly change their location as food runs out in their habitat.

Red kangaroo food

Having at least a tiny idea about hot shrouds, the question involuntarily arises: What do red kangaroos eat?? Red kangaroos are herbivores- feed on leaves and bark of trees, roots, herbs.

Food, they rake out of the ground or gnaw. Marsupials can go without water for up to two months - they extract moisture from the food they eat.

Kangaroos are able to get water on their own - animals dig wells, the depth of which can reach one meter. During a drought, marsupials do not waste extra energy on movement and spend most of their time under the shade of trees.

Pictured is a red kangaroo

Reproduction and lifespan

Lifespan of a red kangaroo varies from 17 to 22 years. Cases have been recorded when the age of the animal exceeded 25 years. Females acquire the ability to reproduce offspring, starting from the age of 1.5-2 years.

When the mating season comes, males fight among themselves for the right to mate females. During such competitions, they often inflict serious injuries on each other. Females give birth to one cub at a time (in rare cases there may be two).

After birth, the kangaroo lives in a leather fold (bag), which is located on the female's stomach. Shortly before the birth of offspring, the mother carefully cleans the bag from dirt.

Pregnancy lasts no more than 1.5 months, so babies are born very small - their weight does not exceed 1g, and their total body length is 2cm, they are completely blind and do not have a coat. Immediately after birth, kangaroos climb into the bag, where they spend the first 11 months of life.

There are four teats in a kangaroo pouch. After the cub has reached its shelter, it finds one of the nipples and grabs it with its mouth. Newborns are not capable of performing sucking movements due to their small size - the nipple secretes milk on its own with the help of a special muscle.

After some time, the cubs become stronger, gain the ability to see, their body is covered with fur. At the age of more than six months, kangaroos begin to leave their cozy haven for a long time and immediately return there again when danger arises. 6-11 months after the birth of the first baby, the female brings the second kangaroo.

Female kangaroos are endowed with an amazing ability - to delay the time of childbirth. This occurs when the previous child has not stopped using the bag.

Even more interesting fact about red kangaroos is that from different nipples the female is able to secrete milk of different fat content. This happens when there are two cubs of different ages: the older kangaroo cub eats full-fat milk, and the smaller one eats low-fat milk.

Interesting facts about red kangaroos

• KEY FACTS
• Habitat: remote corners of the Australian bush.
• Body length:
  males - 1.3-1.6 m
  females - 85 cm-1.05 m
• Tail length:
  males - 1-1.2 m
  females - 65-85 cm
• The weight:
  males on average 55 kg (sometimes up to 90 kg)
  females on average 30 kg

Unusually strong hind legs carry the red kangaroo across the savannah in huge leaps, and the long and thick tail serves as a balancer for the beast.

The red kangaroo - the largest representative of the marsupial order on the planet - adorns the coat of arms of his native Australia.

In addition to Australia, kangaroos and their close relatives wallabies are found only on the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea. These harmless vegetarians occupy the same ecological niche as large ungulates - antelope, buffalo and deer - in other parts of the world. The appearance of the kangaroo is so peculiar that it cannot be confused with anyone - long and extremely strong hind limbs, short front legs and a long muscular tail narrowed at the end. It serves as an additional support for a sitting kangaroo, and on the run it performs the functions of a rudder and balancer. Two large fingers of the four-fingered hind legs of the animal are armed with long claws, and two smaller fingers are armed with short claws for grooming.

Bizarre Appearance

The center of gravity of the kangaroo body is shifted downwards due to the hind limbs reinforced with massive muscles.

The largest among the marsupials are red kangaroos - in their native savannah in the west of New South Wales (Australia).

Above the pelvis, the body gradually narrows, and a disproportionately small and narrow head with a blunt muzzle and long, slightly rounded ears is planted on the shoulders. The short, dense fur of the red kangaroo is reddish-brown in males and bluish-gray in females; on the legs and belly, the coat is light. In different habitats, males and females seem to change clothes, and ladies flaunt in reddish fur coats.

The male is usually twice the size of his mate. The length of his body rarely exceeds 1.7 m, but rising to his full height on his hind legs, the enraged beast turns into a two-meter giant.

Different types of kangaroos have different forms of social behavior. Red kangaroos usually live in groups of up to 10 individuals, which, however, form only for a short time without establishing any strong bonds between individual animals.

Male kangaroos often fight for the female, grappling with their front paws and pushing with their hind legs.

The favorite habitat of kangaroos is dry savannahs, although at the same time they invariably stay close to islands of dense vegetation, where you can hide from the heat and enemies. Leading a nocturnal lifestyle, they often graze in cool weather even in daylight.

If there is plenty of food, a herd of kangaroos usually occupies a small home area, however, in drought, animals make long-distance migrations in search of pastures. Kangaroos are not chased away from their territory, but this does not mean that outbursts of aggressiveness cannot be expected from them. Males, for example, fiercely fight with each other for the right to possess females. Starting a duel, they rise to their full height and, grappling with their front paws, exchange powerful blows from their hind legs to knock the enemy to the ground.

Food

The red kangaroo is well adapted to a purely vegetarian diet. In his stomach there are several folded bags that increase the surface of its inner walls, and the rich microflora breaks down and helps the body absorb plant fiber.

Kangaroos go out to graze shortly before evening twilight and continue feeding until dawn. A grazing kangaroo slowly moves from place to place, nibbling grass and leaning on a thick tail. Nature endowed him with extremely acute hearing, and, barely hearing a suspicious rustle, he rushes to his heels, making giant (9-10 m) jumps and developing speeds of up to 50 km / h.

Red kangaroos do not have a pronounced mating season, but the appearance of offspring in them is usually timed to coincide with the abundant food season. Almost any greenery is suitable for food, therefore, under favorable weather conditions, they actively mate, and during the drought period they do not breed at all.

The main feature of all marsupials is the absence of a placenta. Climbing into the mother's pouch, the red kangaroo cub attaches to the nipple and does not show its nose from there for up to 3 months, and then for another 5 months it is limited only to short sorties.

After a 33-day pregnancy, the female gives birth to a tiny underdeveloped cub weighing 0.75 g. As soon as it is born, the baby crawls into the bag, where it tightly covers the nipple with its mouth. Despite the striking resemblance to the embryo, the cub has a well-developed tongue, nostrils, forelimbs and fingers, helping to cling to the mother's fur and stimulating milk production.

According to its composition, kangaroo milk is similar to the milk of those animals that feed their offspring during hibernation - for example, bear milk. However, its consistency is quite liquid - much thinner than that of animals that feed their young once or twice a day.

As a rule, the female gives birth to only one cub (cases of twins are extremely rare). Up to three months, the baby sits without getting out in the mother's pouch and during this time manages to turn into a well-developed kangaroo. Subsequently, the bag serves him as a temporary apartment and refuge, and by eight months he leaves her forever, although up to a year he can still be supported by mother's milk from time to time. Sexual maturity in females occurs at the age of 15-20 months, and in males - a few months later.

At eight months, the cub leaves the pouch, making room for a new embryo.

Under favorable conditions, females mate as early as two days after giving birth, but the development of a fertilized egg begins when the previous cub leaves the pouch. The next births occur a day or two after the final weaning of the eldest offspring.

Security

Mastering the wild savannahs, man invaded the traditional ancestral home of kangaroos, and the breeding of livestock inevitably led to a reduction in their numbers. At first, all these changes did not particularly affect the red kangaroos, who not only did not claim sheep pastures, but also grazed safely on the grass eaten by sheep. However, their rapid reproduction made them serious competitors for livestock, and farmers began to exterminate unwanted neighbors, while also receiving a considerable income from the sale of skins and furs. In some areas of Australia, red kangaroos are protected by law, and only exorbitant populations are commercially hunted.

A kangaroo is a mammal that belongs to the group of two-bladed marsupials (lat. Diprotodontia), the Kangaroo family (lat. macropodidae). Among these animals there are many endangered and rare species.

The term "kangaroo" is also applied to the Kangaroo rat family, or potor (lat. Potoroidae), the features of which we will discuss in another article.

Etymology of the word "kangaroo"

Interpretations (etymologies) of words are scientific and folk, and very often they do not coincide. The case with the origin of the name kangaroo is one of the most typical such examples. Both interpretations agree that this word came from the Australian Aboriginal language. When Captain Cook sailed to the mainland, he saw strange animals and asked the natives what these unusual animals were called. The natives answered: "gangaroo". Some scholars believe that in the language of the natives, "keng" (or "gang") meant "jump", and "roo" - "four-legged". Other researchers translate the locals' response as "I don't understand."

Linguists are sure that the word "kanguroo" or "gangurru" appeared in the language of the Australian tribe Guugu Yimithirr, who lived on the coast of the Tasman Sea's Botanical Bay. With this word, the locals called black and gray kangaroos. When Cook's expedition arrived on the mainland, they began to call all representatives of the kangaroo family that way. Literally, kangaroo is translated as "big jumper" as opposed to "little jumper", which the natives called "waloru". Now this word has changed to "wallaby" and is present in the species name of the mountain kangaroo. It has also become collective for all medium-sized representatives of the kangaroo family.

What does a kangaroo look like? Description and characteristics of the animal

In a broad sense, the term "kangaroo" is used in relation to the entire Kangaroo family, and in a narrow sense it is used only in relation to large, real, or gigantic representatives of this taxon, whose hind legs are longer than 25 cm. Smaller animals are more often called wallara and wallaby. The common name "giant kangaroos" can equally be attributed to both real kangaroos and wallards, since they are also tall.

The Kangaroo family has 11 genera and 62 species included in them. The maximum length was recorded in the eastern gray kangaroo (lat. Macropus giganteus): it is 3 meters. In second place is the gigantic red kangaroo (lat. Macropus rufus) with a body size excluding the tail up to 1.65 m. True, the gigantic redhead loses in weight. Its maximum weight is 85 kg, while the eastern gray kangaroo weighs 95 kg.

On the left is an Eastern gray kangaroo (lat. Macropus giganteus), photo by Benjamint444, CC BY-SA 3.0. On the right is a gigantic red kangaroo (lat. Macropus rufus), photo by: Drs, Public Domain

The smallest representatives of the Kangaroo family are the philanders, the striped wallaby hare and the short-tailed kangaroo (quokka). For example, the body length of a mini-kangaroo, a red-necked Philander (lat. Thylogale thetis), reaches only 29-63 cm. At the same time, the tail of the animal grows to 27-51 cm. The average weight of females is 3.8 kg, males - 7 kg.

Quokka (lat. Setonix brachyurus) have a total body size with a tail from 65 cm to 1.2 m. Their weight is less: females weigh from 1.6 kg, and the weight of males does not exceed 4.2 kg. The length of the body of a striped wallaby hare (lat. Lagostrophus fasciatus) is 40-45 cm, the length of the tail is 35-40 cm, and the mammal weighs from 1.3 to 2.1 kg.

Signed: On the left is a red-necked philander (lat. Thylogale thetis), photo by Gaz, CC BY-SA 3.0. Quokka (lat. Setonix brachyurus) in the center, photo by SeanMack, CC BY-SA 3.0. Right striped wallaby hare (lat. Lagostrophus fasciatus), photo by John Gould, Public Domain.

Usually, male kangaroos are much larger than females. The growth of females stops shortly after the start of breeding, and males continue to grow, as a result of which old individuals are much larger than young ones. A female gray or red kangaroo weighing 15–20 kg, participating in breeding for the first time, can be courted by a male who is 5–6 times her size. Sexual dimorphism is most pronounced in large species. In contrast, in small wallabies, adults of different sexes are similar in size.

Large kangaroos are very interesting animals, which are difficult not to recognize. Their head is small, with large ears and large almond-shaped eyes. The eyes are framed by long dense eyelashes, which reliably protect the cornea from dust. The nose of the animals is black and bare.

The lower jaw of a kangaroo has a peculiar structure, its rear ends are bent inward. In total, the animals have 32 or 34 teeth, which do not have roots and are adapted to eating coarse plant foods:

• one wide, forward-pointing incisor on each half of the lower jaw;
• small blunt fangs, reduced in some species;
• 4 pairs of molars, changing as they wear and equipped with blunt tubercles. When the last teeth wear out, the animal begins to starve.

The neck of the kangaroo is thin, the chest is narrow, the front legs seem to be underdeveloped, while the jumping legs are very strong and massive.

The tail of the kangaroo, thick at the base and tapering towards the end, serves as a balancer when jumping, and in large individuals it is the support of the body during fights and sitting. It does not perform a grasping function. The length of the tail of a kangaroo varies from 14.2 to 107 cm, depending on the species. The tail of the philanderer is shorter and thicker, and also less hairy than that of the wallaby.

Muscular thighs support the narrow pelvis of mammals. On the even longer bones of the lower leg, the muscles are not so strongly developed, and the ankles are designed in such a way that they prevent the foot from turning to the side. During rest or slow movement, the body weight of the animal is distributed on long, narrow feet, creating the effect of a stop-walk. However, while jumping, the kangaroo rests on only two toes - the 4th and 5th. The second and third fingers were reduced and turned into a single process with two claws used to clean the fur. The first toe is completely missing.

As a result of evolution, the soles of the hind legs of the rocky wallaby were covered with thick hair, which helps the animal to stay on a slippery, wet or grassy surface. Their body became massive, overgrown with coarse thick hair.

Philanders and tree wallabies are somewhat different from other kangaroos. Their hind legs are not large, like those of other kangaroos.

Left: Tasmanian philander (lat. Tasmanian pademelon), photo by: fir0002, GFDL 1.2; right: Goodfellow's kangaroo (lat. Dendrolagus goodfellowi), photo by Richard Ashurst, CC BY 2.0

Latin family name macropodidae received by birth Macrop us, which includes the red kangaroo. From Latin, this word is translated as "big-footed." The term is quite suitable for the largest mammal, moving by jumping on powerful hind legs. But this is not the only way to move representatives of the Kangarov family. These mammals not only jump: they can also slowly walk on four legs, which move in pairs, not alternately.

When large and medium-sized animals raise their hind legs to carry them forward, they rely on the tail and front legs. In jumping, kangaroos can reach speeds of 40-60 km / h, but for short distances. Since their mode of movement is very energy-intensive, they get tired and slow down after 10 minutes after the start of fast jumping.

When resting, they sit on their hind legs, holding the body upright and leaning on the tail, or lie on their side. Animals lying on their side rely on their forelimbs.

When large kangaroos escape from enemies, they make jumps 10-12 m long. They also jump over fences 3 meters high and “fly over” four-lane highways. The Achilles tendons of the legs, which act like springs, help them with this. At an average “running” speed (20 km / h), a kangaroo jumps a distance of 2-3 m.

Kangaroos are excellent swimmers, and they often escape from enemies in the water. At the same time, their legs make alternating, rather than paired movements.

The front paws of large kangaroos are small, with five movable fingers on a short and wide brush. The fingers end in strong sharp claws: animals actively work with them, take food, comb their fur, grab enemies during defense, open a bag, dig wells, burrows and underground parts of plants. Large species also use the forelimbs for thermoregulation, licking their inner side: saliva, evaporating, cools the blood in the network of superficial skin vessels.

Soft, short (2-3 cm long), not shiny, thick kangaroo fur has a protective color. It comes in different shades of gray, yellow, black, brown or red. Many species have blurred dark or light stripes: down the back, around the upper thigh, in the shoulder area, behind or between the eyes. The limbs and tail are often darker than the body, and the belly is usually light. Some rocky and tree kangaroos have longitudinal or transverse stripes on their tails.

Males of some groups are brighter than females: for example, males of red kangaroos are sandy-red, while females are blue-gray or sandy-gray. But this dimorphism is not absolute: some males may be gray-blue, and females are red. Hair color in each sex appears immediately after birth, and is not the result of hormonal changes during puberty, as in many ungulates.

There are albino kangaroos that have white fur.

Although the marsupial bones are developed in both males and females, only the belly of the females of all kangaroos is equipped with a pouch that opens forward. It is needed for carrying helpless newborn cubs. There are muscles in the upper part of the bag, with the help of which the female tightly closes it if necessary: ​​for example, so that the baby kangaroo does not choke while the mother is in the water.

How long do kangaroos live?

The average life expectancy of kangaroos in natural conditions is 4-6 years. Large species in nature can live 12-18 years, in captivity - 28 years.

What does a kangaroo eat?

Basically, kangaroos are herbivores. But among them there are also omnivorous species. Large red kangaroos feed on dry, tough and often thorny grass (for example, triodia (lat. Triodia)). Short-faced kangaroos eat mainly underground storage parts of plants: thickened roots, rhizomes, tubers and bulbs. They also eat the bodies of some fungi, playing an important role in dispersing their spores. Small wallabies, including hare and clawtails, are content with grass leaves, seeds and fruits.

In moderately humid forests, the diet of kangaroos includes more fruits and leaves of dicotyledonous plants, which predominate in the diet of tree kangaroos, marsh wallabies and philanderers. Arboreal species may also eat eggs and chicks, cereals, and even tree bark.

Different types of kangaroos eat alfalfa (lat. Medicalago), clover (lat. Trifolium), ferns (lat. Polypodiophyta), eucalyptus leaves (lat . Eucalyptus) and acacia (lat. Acacia), cereals and other plants. Red-footed philanderers are happy to feast on the fruits of trees such as Ficusmacrophylla and Pleiogynium timorense, sometimes eat fern leaves from the genus Nephrolepis (lat. Nephrolepis cordifolia), dendrobium orchids (lat. Dendrobium speciosum), nibbling grass ( Paspalum notatum and Cyrtococcum oxyphyllum), periodically catch cicadas. The diet of the glove wallaby (lat. macropus irma) includes plants such as edible carpobrotus (lat. Carpobrotus edulis), pig fingered (lat. Cynodon dactylon), Nuitsia profusely flowering (Christmas tree) ( lat . Nuytsia floribunda).

The smallest kangaroos are the most selective in their food preferences. They seek out high quality foods, many of which require careful digestion. Large species, in contrast, are tolerant of low-quality nutrition, consuming a wide range of plant species.

Kangaroos graze at different times of the day, depending on the weather. In the heat, they can lie in the shade all day, and with the onset of dusk they set off. These animals are very undemanding to water: they can not drink for a month or even more (up to 2-3 months), content with the moisture of plants or licking dew from stones and grass. Vallars strip the bark from trees to drink their sap. In dry places, large kangaroos have learned to get to the water themselves. When they are thirsty, they dig wells up to a meter deep with their paws. Many other animals use these watering places: pink cockatoos (lat. Eolophus roseicapilla), marsupial martens (lat. Dasyurus), wild, etc.

The stomach of a kangaroo is adapted to the digestion of coarse plant foods. It is disproportionately large, complex, but not multi-chambered. Some Kangaroos regurgitate half-digested gruel from the stomach and chew it again, as do ungulate ruminants. Up to 40 species of bacteria that live in different parts of their gastrointestinal tract help them break down fiber. The role of a fermenting agent in them is also performed by massively multiplying symbiotic yeast fungi.

In the zoo, kangaroos are fed herbs, the basis of their diet is rolled oats mixed with seeds, nuts, dried fruits and wheat rusks. Animals are happy to eat vegetables, corn and fruits.

Kangaroo classification

According to the database www.catalogueoflife.org, the Kangaroo family (lat. macropodidae) includes 11 genera and 62 modern species (data from 04/28/2018):

• Genus Tree kangaroos (lat. Dendrolagus)
  • Dendrolagus bennettianus– Bennett Kangaroo
  • Dendrolagus dorianus– Kangaroo Doria
  • Dendrolagus goodfellowi– Kangaroo Goodfellow
  • Dendrolagus inustus– Grey-haired tree kangaroo
  • Dendrolagus lumholtzi– Kangaroo Lumholtz (Lumholtz)
  • Dendrolagus matschiei– Kangaroo Matches (Matshi)
  • Dendrolagus mbaiso– Tree wallaby, dingiso, bondegezoo
  • Dendrolagus pulcherrimus
  • Dendrolagus scottae– Papuan tree kangaroo
  • Dendrolagus spadix– Plain tree kangaroo
  • Dendrolagus stellarum
  • Dendrolagus ursinus– Bear kangaroo, bear-like kangaroo
• The genus Shrub kangaroo (lat. Dorcopsis)
  • Dorcopsis atrata– Black bush kangaroo, Goodenough kangaroo
  • Dorcopsis hageni– Kangaroo Hagen
  • Dorcopsis luctuosa
  • Dorcopsis muelleri
• Genus Forest kangaroos (lat. Dorcopsulus)
  • Dorcopsulus macleayi- Macleay's Kangaroo
  • Dorcopsulus vanheurni– Mountain bush kangaroo
• Genus Hare kangaroo (lat. lagorchestes)
  • Lagorchestes asomatus– Small hare kangaroo
  • Lagorchestes conspicillatus– Spectacled kangaroo
  • Lagorchestes hirsutus- Shaggy-tailed kangaroo, tuft-tailed kangaroo
  • † Lagorchestes leporides- long-eared kangaroo
• Genus Striped kangaroos (lat. Lagostrophus)
  • Lagostrophus fasciatus– Striped kangaroo, striped wallaby hare
• Genus Giant kangaroos (lat. macropus)
  • Macropus fuliginosus– Western gray kangaroo
  • Macropus giganteus- Giant kangaroo, or giant gray kangaroo
  • Macropus (notamacropus) agilis– Agile wallaby, agile kangaroo
  • Macropus (Notamacropus) dorsalis– Black-striped wallaby
  • Macropus (Notamacropus) eugenii– Kangaroo Eugenia, philander Eugenia, kangaroo lady, kangaroo Derby, tamnar
  • Macropus (Notamacropus) irma– Gloved Wallaby
  • Macropus (Notamacropus) parma- White-breasted philander, or white-breasted wallaby
  • Macropus (Notamacropus) parryi— Wallaby Parry
  • Macropus (Notamacropus) rufogriseus– Red-grey wallaby
  • Macropus (Osphranter) antilopinus– Antelope kangaroo, antelope kangaroo
  • Macropus (Osphranter) bernardus- Black Wallaroo, aka Bernard's Kangaroo
  • Macropus (Osphranter) robustus– Mountain kangaroo, mountain wallaroo, common wallaroo
  • Macropus (Osphranter) rufus- Red kangaroo, big red kangaroo, giant red kangaroo
  • † Macropus (Notamacropus) grayi– Kangaroo Gray
• Genus Claw-tailed kangaroos, they are also nail-tailed kangaroos (lat. Onychogalea)
  • Onychogalea fraenata– Short-clawed kangaroo, bridle kangaroo, or pygmy kangaroo
  • Onychogalea unguifera- Flat-clawed kangaroo
  • †Onychogalea lunata– Moon-clawed kangaroo, half-moon kangaroo
• Genus Rock wallabies, rocky kangaroos, stone kangaroos (lat. Petrogale)
  • Petrogale assimilis– Queensland Rock Wallaby
  • Petrogale brachyotis- Short-eared kangaroo, or short-eared wallaby
  • Petrogale burbidgei– Wallaby Barbidge
  • Petrogale coenensis
  • Petrogale concinna– Dwarf rock wallaby
  • petrogale godmani– Godman's Wallaby, Godman's Kangaroo
  • Petrogale herberti
  • Petrogale inornata– Spectacled rock wallaby
  • Petrogale lateralis– Black-footed rock wallaby
  • Petrogale mareeba
  • Petrogale penicillata– Brush-tailed rock wallaby, brush-tailed rock kangaroo, brush-tailed rock wallaby
  • petrogale persephone– Wallaby Persephone
  • Petrogale purpureicollis– Purple-necked wallaby
  • Petrogale rothschildi– Rothschild's wallaby, Rothschild's kangaroo
  • Petrogale sharmani
  • Petrogale xanthopus– Ring-tailed kangaroo, yellow-footed kangaroo, yellow-footed rock wallaby
• Genus Short-tailed kangaroos (lat. setonix)
  • Setonix brachyurus- Quokka, short-tailed kangaroo
• Genus Philandera (lat. Thylogale)
  • Thylogale billardierii– Tasmanian philanderer, red-bellied philanderer
  • Thylogale browni– Philander Brown
  • Thylogale brunii– New Guinean philanderer
  • Thylogale calabyi Philander Calabi
  • Thylogale lanatus mountain philander
  • Thylogale stigmatica- Red-legged Philander
  • Thylogale thetis- Red-necked Philander
• Rod Wallaby (lat. Wallabia)
  • wallabia bicolor– Swamp Wallaby
  • † wallabia indra
  • † wallabia kitcheneris
• † Genus watutia
  • † watutia novaeguineae
• † Genus Dorcopsoides(Dorcopsoides)
  • † Dorcopsoides fossilis
• † Genus Kurrabi
  • † Kurrabi mahoneyi
  • † Kurrabi merriwaensis
  • † Kurrabi pelchenorum
• † Genus Procoptodon (lat. Procoptodon)

In what country do kangaroos live and on what continent are they found?

The habitat of modern kangaroos covers Australia, New Guinea and nearby small islands. Feral populations of some species are found in Great Britain, Germany, the Hawaiian Islands and New Zealand. Several kangaroos have escaped from US and French zoos and established their own colonies. And yet, according to German geneticists, the homeland of kangaroos is South America, from where their history begins. In Africa, America and Antarctica, these animals are not found.

So, kangaroos live:

• In Australia;
• In New Guinea;
• In Hawaii, there is a brush-tailed rock wallaby (lat. Petrogale penicillata);
• In England and Germany, there is a reddish-gray wallaby (lat. Macropus rufogriseus);
• In New Zealand, the bush-tailed rock kangaroo (lat. Petrogale penicillata), red-gray kangaroo (lat. Macropus rufogriseus), white-breasted wallaby (lat. Macropus parma) and Eugenia the kangaroo (lat. macropus eugenii);
• On the island of Kawau lives a white-breasted wallaby (lat. macropus parma);
• The red-gray kangaroo lives in Tasmania (lat. Macropus rufogriseus) and the Tasmanian philander (lat. Thylogale billardierii);
• Kangaroo Island is home to the western gray kangaroo (lat. Macropus fuliginosus) and the Tasmanian kangaroo (lat. Thylogale billardierii);
• Quokka (lat. Setonix brachyurus).

Representatives of the genus Macropus are found in various natural zones: from deserts to the outskirts of humid eucalyptus forests. Short-faced kangaroos are inhabitants of sparse forests, copses and grassy savannahs. The distribution of representatives of the genera of shrubby, tree and forest kangaroos is limited to rainforests. Philanders also inhabit moist, dense forests, including eucalyptus trees. By the way, tree kangaroos are the only members of the family that live on trees. Hare and claw-tailed kangaroos live in deserts and semi-deserts, including scrublands, savannahs and sparse copses. Rock wallabies occupy territories that range from the desert zone of Central, Western and South Australia to tropical forests. They live among boulders, rock outcrops and cliffs where they hide during the day.

Kangaroo breeding

Some kangaroos breed seasonally, while most mate and give birth at any time of the year. On the day of estrus, the female may be accompanied by a string of males burning with passion, leading endless duels for the opportunity to leave offspring.

Kangaroos fight fiercely, as in a fight without rules. Leaning on their tails, they stand on their hind legs and, like wrestlers, clasp each other with their front limbs. To win, you need to knock the opponent to the ground and beat with your hind legs. Sometimes kangaroo fights end in serious injuries.

Males of many species of large kangaroos leave scent marks. They mark grass, bushes and trees with the secretions of the throat glands. They leave the same "traces" on the female's body during courtship, showing rivals that this is his chosen one. A specific secret in males is also produced in the cloaca, which enters the urine or feces through the ducts.

Female large kangaroos start breeding at 2-3 years old, when they grow to half the length of an adult animal, and remain reproductively active until 8-12 years old. Male kangaroos reach sexual maturity shortly after females, but in large species they are prevented from breeding by adult males. The hierarchical position of the kangaroo is determined by the overall size, and, consequently, by age. In a gray kangaroo, the dominant male in a given area can make up to half of all matings in his area. But he can maintain his special status only for a year, and in order to achieve it, he must live 8-10 years. Most males never mate at all, and very few reach the top of the pecking order.

On average, the gestation period for a kangaroo lasts 4 weeks. More often they give birth to only one cub, less often two, large red kangaroos (lat. Macropus rufus) bring up to 3 kangaroos. Kangaroos are mammals that do not have a placenta. Due to its absence, the embryos develop in the yolk sac of the female uterus, and kangaroo cubs are born underdeveloped and tiny, only 15-25 mm long and weighing from 0.36-0.4 grams (for quokkas and philanderers) to 30 grams (for gray kangaroo). In fact, these are still embryos that look like mucous lumps. They are so small that they can fit in a tablespoon. At birth, a kangaroo cub does not have eyes, hind limbs and a tail formed. The birth of such small cubs does not require much effort from the female, she sits on the croup, stretching her tail between her hind limbs, and licks the fur between the cloaca and the bag. The birth of a kangaroo passes very quickly.

This is what a newborn kangaroo looks like, which has already crawled into the bag and sucked on the mother's nipple. Photo credit: Geoff Shaw, CC BY-SA 3.0

Using strong forelimbs, a newly born cub without outside help, focusing on the smell of milk, climbs on the mother's wool into her bag in an average of 3 minutes. There, a small kangaroo sticks to one of the 4 nipples and continues development for 150-320 days (depending on the species), remaining attached to it.

The newborn himself at first is not able to suck milk: his mother feeds him, regulating the flow of fluid with the help of muscles. The special structure of the larynx helps the baby not to choke. If during this period the kangaroo cub accidentally comes off the nipple, it may die of hunger. The bag serves as a cuvette chamber for him, in which his development is completed. It provides the newborn with the right temperature and humidity.

When a baby kangaroo leaves the nipple, in many large species, the mother allows him to leave the bag for short walks, bringing him back when moving. She forbids him to get into the bag just before the birth of a new cub, but he continues to follow her and can put his head in the bag to suck milk.

The amount of milk changes as the baby grows. The mother simultaneously feeds the kangaroo, which is in the bag, and the previous one, but with different amounts of milk and from different nipples. This is possible due to the fact that cutaneous secretion in each mammary gland is independently regulated by hormones.

A few days after giving birth, the female is ready to mate again. If she becomes pregnant, the embryo stops developing. This diapause lasts for about a month, until the cub in the pouch leaves it. Then the embryo continues its development.

Two days before the birth, the mother does not allow the previous kangaroo to climb into the bag. The kid perceives this rebuff with difficulty, since earlier he was taught to return at the first call. Meanwhile, the female kangaroo cleans and prepares the pocket for the next cub. During the dry period, the embryo remains in a state of diapause until the rainy season.

Kangaroo lifestyle in the wild

Surely, everyone is familiar with the red Australian kangaroo, which gallops through the desert regions of the mainland. But this is only one of 62 species of kangaroos. Desert-adapted herbivorous kangaroos, such as the red kangaroo, appeared 5-15 million years ago. Before that, Australia was covered with forests, and the ancestors of this amazing family lived in trees.

Most kangaroos are solitary animals, with the exception of females with cubs that form a family. Bush-tailed kangaroos make shelters in burrows that they dig on their own, and settle there in small colonies. And yet these animals cannot be called truly social. Solitary subfamily kangaroos macropodinae, which do not use permanent shelters (mostly small species living in areas with dense vegetation), behave in the same way, but the union between the female and her last offspring can last many weeks after the milk feeding is stopped. Rock kangaroos hide for the day in crevices or piles of stones, forming colonies. At the same time, males try to prevent the penetration of other suitors into the shelter of their females. In some species of rock kangaroo, males unite with one or more females, but they do not always feed together. Male tree kangaroos guard trees used by one or more females.

Large species of kangaroos live in herds. Some of them form groups of 50 or more individuals. Membership in such a group is free, and animals can repeatedly leave it and rejoin. Individuals of certain age categories usually tend to live side by side. The features of the female's socialization are determined by the stage of development of her kangaroo: females whose babies are already ready to leave the pouch avoid meeting other females in the same position. Males move from one group to another more often than females and use large areas of habitat. They do not show territoriality and move widely, checking on large numbers of females.

Large social kangaroos live in open areas and used to be attacked by land and air predators such as dingoes, wedge-tailed eagles or the marsupial wolf, which is now extinct. Living in a group gives kangaroos the same benefits as many other social animals. So, dingoes have less opportunity to approach a large group, and kangaroos can spend more time feeding.

Kangaroo and man

Under favorable conditions, kangaroos breed very quickly, which greatly worries Australian farmers. In Australia, from 2 to 4 million large kangaroos and wallaras are killed annually, as they are considered pests of pastures and crops. Shooting is licensed and regulated. When the kangaroo country was settled by the first Europeans, these marsupials were less numerous, and in the years 1850-1900, many scientists feared that they might disappear. The development of pastures and watering places for sheep and cattle, together with a decrease in the number of dingoes, led to the flourishing of kangaroos.

Once these animals were the prey of the natives, who hunted mammals with the help of spears and boomerangs. Small wallabies were driven out by fire or driven into prepared traps. In New Guinea, they were pursued with bow and arrows, and now they are killed with firearms. In many areas, hunting has reduced the population and brought tree kangaroos and other species with limited distribution to the brink of extinction. In much of Australia, outside of rainy or moist hardwood forests, kangaroo species weighing less than 5–6 kg have declined since the 19th century. On the mainland, some of these species have disappeared or greatly reduced their range, although they managed to survive on the islands. The disappearance was caused by the destruction of habitats, the importation of livestock and foxes. Foxes, introduced for sport hunting in Victoria in 1860 - 1880, quickly spread through the sheep breeding areas, feeding mainly on imported ones, but short-faced kangaroos and wallabies also began to be used as prey. Only where foxes have now been eradicated are kangaroos at the peak of population development and have regained their numbers.