They soon adapt to their new pouch, diving into it headfirst, as if it were their mother's. Animals that raise their young in a pouch, or marsupium, are called marsupials. Comprising some 260 species, marsupials include the kangaroo, koala, wombat, bandicoot, and opossum, the only species native to North America. Understandably, early explorers found these unusual animals, especially the kangaroo, difficult to describe to people back home. When a live kangaroo was later exhibited in London, it caused a sensation.
Kangaroos have big ears that swivel about on a deerlike head.
Their small but powerful forelimbs resemble human arms, especially when the kangaroo stands erect. Some 55 species of Macropodidae range in size from that of a man down to that of a rat. All Macropodidae have short forelimbs and long hind limbs for hopping. Red kangaroos, gray kangaroos, and wallaroos, or euros, are the largest. At night they descend to the forest floor, where they feed mainly on herbs and grubs.