Kangaurus

Kingdom:

The **kangaurus** is a bipedal, herbivorous macropod marsupial from the tropical grasslands of Gricela.

## Description

   The kangaurus is the largest and heaviest living marsupial in Gricela. An adult male will commonly weigh around 212 kilograms (467.3 pounds) whereas females commonly weigh around 174 kilograms (383.6 pounds). They have a powerful tail that can reach 1.8 meters (6 feet) in length. Large males stood over 2.1 meters (6.9 feet) and vary in length depending on the environment. The largest female specimen weighed over 202 kilograms (445.3 pounds) and had a length of 3 meters (10 feet).

Female kangaurus have a brown coat and light brown underbelly that runs from its neck to its pouch. Males however, have an overall similar coloring to the females, though they have dark brown stripes that runs from their back to their tails and a light brown underbelly that doesnt stop at its pouch (which do not exist in males). They have circular heads and large ears for better hearing sound. They have two claws on their feet and three on their arms. They also have a soft coat that is surprisingly thick, reaching a thickness of up to 12 millimeters. They have relatively small eyes and rely on their keen sense of smell and incredible hearing.

## Behaviour

Kangaurus are social animals that form open-membership groups. The groups contain an average of four or more individuals. Smaller groups join together to graze in preferred foraging areas, and to rest in large groups around the middle of the day. Kangaurus are not territorial and only fight to impress females of the group. Kangaurus adjust their behaviour in relation to the risk of predation with reproductive females, individuals on the periphery of the group and individuals in groups far from cover being the most vigilant. Vigilance in individual kangaurus does not seem to decrease when the size of the group increases. However, there is a tendency for the proportion of individuals on the periphery of the group to decline as group size increases. The open membership of the group allows more kangaurus to join and thus provide more cover against predators.

### Reproduction

Females may form strong kinship bonds with their relatives. Females with living female relatives have a greater chance of reproducing. Kangaurus are obligate breeders, meaning that they reproduce only on one kind of habitat, most of which happen during the summer. The female kangaurus is permanently pregnant except on the day she gives birth; she might also freeze the development of an embryo until the previous joey is able to leave the pouch. This is known as embryonic diapause, and will occur in times of drought and in areas with poor food sources. The composition of the milk produced by the mother varies according to the needs of the joey. Females take care of the young without any assistance from the males. The joeys are heavily reliant on their mothers for about a thousand days, which is when they are weaned. Females mature after 30 months while males mature after 25 months.

## Diet

The kangaurus mostly graze at night where some predators are inactive, though some might feed on daylight. They eat grasses, flowers, leaves, ferns, moss and even insects. Kangaurus regurgitate their food and re-chew it before it is ready to be totally digested. Joeys for the most part feed on their mother's milk in their early days.