What is a baby kangaroo called? | Reference.com What is a baby kangaroo called? A: Quick Answer A baby kangaroo is called a joey. The adult male kangaroos are called bucks, boomers or jacks. Adult females are known as does, flyers or jills. Full Answer According to Live Science, kangaroos are marsupials, meaning they give birth to young who are not fully developed. A newborn joey is often barely bigger than a grain of rice. The joey continues to grow inside the mother's pouch where it gains nourishment from milk and where it is sheltered and kept warm and protected for 120 to 400 days. A kangaroo grows to a height of 3 to 8 feet. Kangaroos travel together in a "mob" that ranges from 10 to over 100 kangaroos. If there is more than one male in a mob, they compete for dominance by boxing. Kangaroos are native to Australia, but they are adaptable to other climates.

Koala Express: Interesting and amazing facts about the Australian kangaroo A male kangaroo is called a boomer A female kangaroo is called a flyer A baby kangaroo is called a joey A Kangaroo is a marsupial mammal. It is a macropod which means "big foot". There are over 40 different types (species) of Kangaroo. The smaller ones are usually called Wallabies. The largest is the Red Kangaroo. It stands taller than a man and can weigh 85 kg's. It is the largest marsupial in the world. On the Australian coat of arms the Emu and the Kangaroo were selected as symbols of Australia to represent the country progress because they are always moving forward and never move backwards. Kangaroos are the largest marsupial mammals. They belong to the Macropodidae family. Baby kangaroos Kangaroos usually have one young annually. The young kangaroo, or joey, is born at a very immature stage when it is only about 2 cm long and weighs less than a gram. Immediately after birth it crawls up the mother's body and enters the pouch.

The baby attaches its mouth to one of four teats, which then enlarges to hold the young animal in place. After several weeks, the joey becomes more active and gradually spends more and more time outside the pouch, which it leaves completely between 7 and 10 months of age. Female kangaroos enter into heat within a few days after giving birth they mate and conceive, but after only one week's development does the microscopic embryo enter a dormant state that lasts until the previous young leaves the pouch. The development of the second embryo then resumes and proceeds to birth after a gestation period of about 30 days. Note: There are 47 varieties of kangaroo, ranging in size from the two-pound rock wallaby to the 6-foot, 300-pound red kangaroo. Kangaroos are FAST! The Kangaroo moves by hopping on its powerful hind legs. It uses its thick long tail to balance its body while hopping. A kangaroo can hop at up to 60kmh (40mph). It can also leap over obstacles up to 3m (10ft) high.

Because of the unusual shape of its legs and its bulky tail a kangaroo can't walk or move backwards very easily. Kangaroos are found in Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. They are grazing animals that eat grass, young shoots and leaves of heath plants and grass trees. Kangaroos need very little water to survive and are capable of going for months without drinking at all. The kangaroo usually rests in the shade during the day and comes out to eat in the late afternoon and night when its much cooler. It eats mostly grass. It needs very little water to survive. It can survive without drinking for months. Reproduced with permission from the Lonely Planet website © 2010 Lonely Planet. Image surfsidebackpackers.com.au Groups of kangaroos are called 'mobs' When a kangaroo is moving slowly the tail is used as an extra leg and supports the kangaroo when it is standing on its hind legs. Most kangaroos can only move both back legs together and not one at a time. Kangaroos have good eyesight but only respond to moving objects. They have excellent hearing and can swivel their large ears in all directions to pick up sounds.

Kangaroos are social animals that live in groups or "mobs" of at least two or three individuals and up to 100 kangaroos. Note Kangaroos usually have one young annually. The joey remains in the pouch for nine months and continues to suckle until twelve to seventeen months of age. Kangaroos can have 3 babies at one time. One becoming mature and just out of the pouch, another developing in the pouch and one embryo in pause mode. There are 4 teats in the pouch and each provides different milk for the different stages of development.

Some kangaroo facts and figures Common name / Scientific name / Height Weight Eastern Grey Macropus giganteus 3 - 8ft (0.9 - 2.4m) 40 - 200 lbs (18 - 95kg) Red kangaroo Macropus Rufus 3 - 9ft (0.9 - 2.7m) 40 - 150 lbs (18 - 70kg) Western Grey Macropus fuliginosus 3 - 7ft (0.9 - 2.1m) 63 - 120lbs (28 - 54kg) Reproduced with permission from the Lonely Planet website © 2010 Lonely Planet. Image surfsidebackpackers.com.au Eastern Grey Kangaroo Sometimes known as the "Forester" the Eastern grey kangaroo is the heaviest marsupial in the world. Males are larger than females (rarely exceed 45kg).Eastern grey kangaroo lives in small groups but may congregate in large numbers when feeding. It is usually active from late afternoon until early morning, resting in the shade of trees and shrubs during the day.

Kangaroos are the only large animals to use hopping as a means of locomotion. The comfortable hopping speed for a red kangaroo is about 20–25 km/h (12–16 mph), but speeds of up to 70 km/h (43 mph) can be attained over short distances, while it can sustain a speed of 40 km/h (25 mph) for nearly 2 km (1.2 mi). This fast and energy-efficient method of travel has evolved because of the need to regularly cover large distances in search of food and water, rather than the need to escape predators. At slow speeds, it employs pentapedal locomotion, using its tail to form a tripod with its two forelimbs while bringing its hind feet forward. Kangaroos are adept swimmers, and often flee into waterways if threatened by a predator. If pursued into the water, a kangaroo may use its forepaws to hold the predator underwater so as to drown it. They are able to cleared lengths of 25 feet (8 meters) and heights of 9 feet (3 meters).Eastern grey kangaroos generally give birth to one infant at a time but twins have been reported.

A single young weighing less than 0.35oz (1gr) is born after a pregnancy of 36 days. The joey leaves the pouch for short periods in about nine months of age, but continues to be suckled until it is about 18 months of age. Beware! If pursued into the water, a kangaroo may use its forepaws to hold the predator underwater so as to drown it. They are able to cleared lengths of 25 feet (8 meters) and heights of 9 feet (3 meters).Eastern grey kangaroos generally give birth to one infant at a time but twins have been reported. A single young weighing less than 0.35oz (1gr) is born after a pregnancy of 36 days. The joey leaves the pouch for short periods in about nine months of age, but continues to be suckled until it is about 18 months of age. Red Kangaroo The Red kangaroo is the largest marsupial in the world. The female is often called the "blue flyer" because of her blue-grey fur.

In the eastern part males are usually red (pale red to brick red) and females a bluish grey, elsewhere, both sexes may be reddish/brown. Red kangaroos normally move in groups ("mobs") ranging from a few dozen to several hundred animals. The Red kangaroo mob usually consists of a dominant male, a number of adult females, and juveniles of both sexes. Red kangaroo females are sexually mature at about eighteen months, males at about two years. Red kangaroo joeys remain in the pouch for 5-6 months. Over a period of 2-3 months they gradually spend more time away from the pouch usually weaned by one year of age, but normally remain close to the mother for another 6 months. Western Grey Kangaroo The Western grey kangaroo looks much like the Eastern grey kangaroo, and for many years was treated as subspecies. They vary in color, being anywhere from greyish-brown to chocolate brown. The muzzle is covered in fine hair. The western group is slender and greyish-brown in color, and the southern group is stockier and brown in color. Western grey kangaroo males are known as stinkers due to their strong, curry-like smell.

Western grey kangaroos are very vocal. The mothers communicate to the joeys with a series of clicks. Western grey kangaroos have no particular breeding season, although most joeys are born in the summer. The Western grey kangaroo is related to the Eastern grey and Red kangaroos. Where they live Eastern grey kangaroo estimate population in 2011 was 16,057,783 Eastern grey kangaroos are distributed throughout most of the eastern third of the Australian continent, especially along the coast in damp forest and scrub. It has increased in numbers since European settlement due to pasture improvement, and the provision of watering points for stock. Red kangaroo estimated population in 2011 was 11,514,298 Red kangaroos are distributed throughout inland Australia and occupy mixed habitats of open shrub lands, grasslands, male scrubs, Mulga country, and desert absent from the wetter areas of eastern, northern and south-western Australia. Western Grey kangaroo estimated population in 2011 was 2,348,393 Western grey kangaroos inhabit 60% of western and southern Australia.

The southern group can be found in South Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales. They live in woodlands, open forests, coastal heath land, open grassland, scrubland and also can be found on city outskirts and golf courses. Kangaroo numbers are increasing throughout Australia. They are now found in greater numbers than prior European settlement due to provision of pasture and additional water points. Since the extermination of its natural predator, the Tasmanian wolf, and because of its rapid reproductive abilities this animal has overpopulated. Kanagaroo feeding facts All kangaroos have a chambered stomach similar to cattle and sheep. They regurgitate the vegetation they have eaten, chew it as cud, and then swallow it again for final digestion. The Red kangaroo grazes during the night on a wide variety of grasses and low herbaceous plants, though sometimes this grazing period starts late evening and ends early morning When water is available it will drink but, if it obtains sufficient green food, it does not need to do so. Western grey kangaroos feed mostly on grass but will browse upon certain native shrubs. They are strictly herbivorous and use microorganisms in the caecum to break down the cellulose of these plants.

They can survive on plants high in fiber but low in nitrogen, and require very little water. Beware! The kangaroo fights by attacking its opponent with its front paws (which have sharp claws) or by kicking them with its powerful hind legs. Have you heard of Kanga the kangaroo? The cutest little kangaroo in Australia you can own! Kangaroos: Facts, Information & Pictures Credit: Renate | Shutterstock Kangaroos are large marsupials that are found only in Australia. They are identified by their muscular tails, strong back legs, large feet, short fur and long, pointed ears. Like all marsupials, a sub-type of mammal, females have pouches that contain mammary glands, where their young live until they are old enough to emerge. Kangaroos are in the Macropodidae family, which also includes tree-kangaroos, wallabies, wallaroos, quokkas and pademelons. When people think of kangaroos, the four species that typically come to mind are in the genus Macropus: the antilopine kangaroo, the red kangaroo, the western gray kangaroo and the eastern gray kangaroo.

They are sometimes referred to as the "great kangaroos" because these species are much larger than other kangaroos. However, there are 12 species of tree-kangaroos in the Dendrolagus genus, according to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System. And, bettongs , in the Potoridae family, are called rat-kangaroos. Size The largest kangaroo, as well as the largest marsupial, is the red kangaroo, according to National Geographic . The length from the red kangaroo's head to its rump is 3.25 to 5.25 feet (1 to 1.6 meters) long. Its tail adds another 35.5 to 43.5 inches (90 to 110 centimeters) to its length and its entire body weighs around 200 lbs. (90 kilograms). The smallest kangaroo is the musky rat-kangaroo . It is only 6 to 8 inches (15.24 to 20.32 cm) long and weighs only 12 ounces (340 grams).

Its ratlike tail adds another 5 to 6 inches (12.7 to 15.24 cm) to its length. Habitat Most kangaroos live on the continent of Australia, though each species has a different place it likes to call home. For example, the musky rat-kangaroo likes to nestle down in little nests on the floor of the rainforests in northeastern Queensland. Gray kangaroos like the forests of Australia and Tasmania, on the other hand. The antilopine kangaroo can be found in the monsoonal eucalyptus woodlands of extreme northern Australia. Tree-kangaroos live in the upper branches of trees in the rainforests of Queensland, as well as on the island of New Guinea. Kangaroos at Pinnaroo Valley Memorial Park. Credit: Flickr/paul dynamik. Habits Kangaroos are the only large animals that hop as a primary means of locomotion. Their springy hind legs and feet are much stronger and larger than their arms (or "forelimbs").

According to the San Diego Zoo, kangaroos can cover 15 feet (7 m) in a single hop and can hop as fast as 30 mph (48 kph). Usually, 20 mph (32 kph) is considered their cruising speed. When feeding, kangaroos use a slower, walking movement, and for that they use their muscular tail as a kind of fifth leg, pushing off the ground as they move along. Kangaroos are social and live in groups called a mob, a herd or a troop. Kangaroos in a mob will groom each other and protect each other from danger. If a kangaroo suspects there is danger in the area, it will stomp its foot on the ground to alert others. If it comes to blows, a kangaroo will box and kick its opponent. Diet Kangaroos are herbivores. They eat grasses, flowers, leaves, ferns, moss and even insects. Like cows, kangaroos regurgitate their food and re-chew it before it is ready to be totally digested. A juvenile kangaroo views the outside world from the pouch of an adult female Eastern gray kangaroo.

Credit: Fir0002/Flagstaffotos Offspring Probably the best-known fact about kangaroos is that they carry their young in a pouch. A female kangaroo is pregnant for 21 to 38 days, and she can give birth to up to four offspring at one time, though this is unusual. At birth, the baby, called a joey, can be as small as a grain of rice, or as big as a bee, at 0.2 to 0.9 inches (5 to 25 millimeters), according to the San Diego Zoo . When the joey is born, it is guided safely into the comfy pouch, where it gestates for another 120 to 450 days. Inside the pouch, the joey is protected and can feed by nursing from its mother's nipples. Joeys urinate and defecate in the mother's pouch. The lining of the pouch absorbs some of the mess, but occasionally the mother will need to clean it out, which she does by inserting her long snout into the pouch and using her tongue to remove the contents.

A young joey will remain attached to a nipple while the mother does this, but any older ones will be temporarily kicked out. Another interesting fact about the mother kangaroo is that she is able to suckle two joeys at different developmental stages at the same time with milk that has different nutritional content, the New York Times has reported. Joeys grow quickly, though, and at 14 to 20 months for females or 2 to 4 years for males, they will be fully matured.

Classification/taxonomy The taxonomy of kangaroos, tree-kangaroos and rat-kangaroos, according to ITIS, is: Kingdom: Animalia Family: Macropodidae Subfamily: Macropodinae Genus & species: Macropus fuliginosus (western gray kangaroo; three subspecies), Macropus giganteus (eastern gray kangaroo; two subspecies), Macropus antilopinus (antilopine kangaroo), Macropus rufus (red kangaroo) Tree-kangaroos Subfamily: Macropodinae Genus: Dendrolagus Species: 12, including Dendrolagus bennettianus (Bennett's tree-kangaroo), Dendrolagus goodfellowi (Goodfellow's tree-kangaroo), Dendrolagus matschiei (Huon tree-kangaroo) and Dendrolagus spadix (Lowlands tree-kangaroo).

Rat-kangaroos Family: Potoridae Genera & species: Aepyprymnus rufescens (Rufous bettong or Rufous rat-kangaroo), Bettongia (four species of bettongs, or short-nosed rat-kangaroos), Caloprymnus campestris (desert rat-kangaroo) Musky rat-kangaroos Genus & species: Hypsiprymnodon moschatus Kangaroo ancestors There is a rich fossil record for kangaroo ancestors and ancient relatives; giant kangaroos plodded through the Pleistocene (2.6 million to 11,700 years ago) and the Pliocene (5.3 million to 2.6 million years ago). And about 20 million years ago, tiny ancestors of modern kangaroos and a related group of kangaroos with fangs scurried through dense forests in northwestern Queensland, Australia, a region that is now arid outback.

In a study published in February 2016, scientists described a new kangaroo genus , Cookeroo, and two new species: Cookeroo bulwidarri, dated to about 23 million years ago, and Cookeroo hortusensis, which lived between 18 million and 20 million years ago. These ancient kangaroos' bodies probably measured about 17 to 20 inches (42 to 52 centimeters) long. C. bulwidarri and C. hortusensis didn't hop, navigating their forest home on all fours and sharing it with a diverse collection of animals: marsupial moles, feather-tailed possums, ancient koalas and crocodiles. Conservation status According to the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species, 16 species of tree-kangaroos and rat-kangaroos are listed as either near threatened, threatened, vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The desert rat-kangaroo and the Nullarbor dwarf bettong are considered extinct. Studies show that global warming could also kill off the world's smallest kangaroo . The four species of great kangaroos are not endangered.

Kangaroo | Basic Facts About Kangaroos | Defenders of Wildlife Home | Wild Places & Wildlife | Fact Sheets | Kangaroo | Basic Facts About Kangaroos Basic Facts About Kangaroos Kangaroos are the largest living marsupials from the family Macropodidae. There are four species commonly referred to as the kangaroo: the red kangaroo, the eastern grey kangaroo, the western grey kangaroo, and the antilopine kangaroo. © Matt Walker Diet Kangaroos are grazing herbivores, which means their diet consists mainly of grasses. They can survive long periods without water. Population The kangaroo is the national symbol of Australia. Eastern gray kangaroo (Macropus giganteus): 8,978,000. Western gray kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus): 1,774,000. Red kangaroo (Macropus rufus): 8,351,000. Range Kangaroos are found in Australia and Tasmania, as well as on surrounding islands. Kangaroos live in varied habitats, from forests and woodland areas to grassy plains and savannas .

Behavior Kangaroos live and travel in organized groups or "mobs," dominated by the largest male. Male kangaroos are called boomers, bucks or jacks; females are does, flyers, or jills, and the young ones are joeys. The collective noun for kangaroos is a mob, troop or court. Did You Know? Kangaroos are the only large animals to use hopping as a means of locomotion. Because of its long feet, a kangaroo cannot walk normally. To move at slow speeds, a kangaroo will use its tail to form a tripod with its two forelimbs. It then raises its hind feet forward, in a form of locomotion called "crawl-walking." Reproduction Usually, female kangaroos give birth to one joey at a time. Newborns weigh as little as 0.03 ounces at birth - as small as a lima bean! After birth, the joey crawls into its mother's pouch, where it will nurse and continue to grow and develop. Red kangaroo joeys do not leave the pouch for good until they are more than eight months old. Gray kangaroo joeys wait until they are almost a year old.

Interesting Kangaroo Facts Swamp Wallaby Rat Kangaroo The Red Kangaroo is the largest living marsupial and can grow to two metres (!). It weighs up to 90 kg (200 pounds). Top speed: over 60 km/h (close to 40 mph). A Red Kangaroo can leap eight metres far (25 feet) and three metres (10 feet) high! (If it wants to. At normal hopping speed they would cover more like 1.5 - 2 metres or 5 - 6 feet in a leap, at a speed of about 25 km/h or 15 mph.) The Eastern Grey grows to 1.5 - 1.8 metres and a big male can weigh over 60 kg (130 pounds). Females are much smaller than the males. Eastern Greys can jump as well as the big Reds: up to nine metres (29 feet) in one bound, and can reach speeds of nearly 50 km/h (30 mph). The Western Grey is slightly smaller and lighter (a good 50 kg or 110 ponds for a large male).

Wallabies are generally smaller, the biggest ones weighing about 25 kg (55 pounds) The other, smaller macropods come in all shapes and sizes, some weighing as little as 500 g. Kangaroos are the only large animals that move by hopping. They cannot move backwards. All macropods have very strong hind legs and large feet. (Only the tree kangaroos have strong front legs as well, and smaller back legs compared to other kangaroos.) The large and strong tail is used for balance when hopping, and as fifth limb when moving about on all four legs, er, five. Hopping is a fast and energy efficient method of travel, designed to cover huge distances in a land that offers little food.or water. Odd kangaroo fact: on land kangaroos can't move their hind legs independently, only together. But when they are swimming (they are good swimmers) they kick each leg independently. Kangaroo With Joey Wallaby With Joey All marsupials have a pouch in which their young live, drink milk and develop until they are big enough to face the world.

The pouches of all macropods open forwards (whereas the pouches of koalas or wombats open backwards). Like all marsupials baby kangaroos are born at a very early stage of development, 31 to 36 days after gestation. If you compare that to humans it would be at the seventh week of a pregnancy. At that stage the joey is not much more than an embryo, a pink hairless tiny worm. Only the front legs are a bit developed, just enough to allow the embryo to make its way into the pouch and attach to one of the four teats. Initially the joey is permanently attached to the teat. As it grows and grows some hairs it also learns to let go and reattach itself. It takes several months until the young is covered in fur, and mature enough to leave the pouch for the first time. In Western Greys for example this takes 9 months! During the following months the joey will spend more and more time outside, exploring its surroundings. Eventually it will permanently leave the pouch. Even after the joey has "moved out" it will continue to drink milk from the pouch. Weaning takes a few more months.

By the time it is fully weaned a grey kangaroo may be over 12 months old! Interesting fact: kangaroos mate again as soon after a joey is borne, but the development of the second embryo stops, or rather, is paused after a few days. So in a way kangaroos are permanently pregnant. If a joey is lost, or if one has grown up and left the pouch, they can immediately give birth again. Even more interesting fact: when kangaroos (after a joey has left the pouch) give birth again, one of their teats will continue to produce a high carbohydrate milk for the older joey. The new baby will attach itself to another teat that produces a different kind of milk with a higher fat content. Pretty amazing... A female kangaroo can have three babies at the same time: an older joey living outside the pouch but still drinking milk, a young one in the pouch attached to a teat, and an embryo awaiting birth. Because of this very efficient way of bringing up their young, kangaroos raise on average three young every two years, even though it takes such a long time for the joey to become independent. What is the name of a baby kangaroo?

| Reference.com What is the name of a baby kangaroo? A: Quick Answer The term for a baby kangaroo is joey. A male kangaroo is referred to as a boomer, and a female kangaroo is called a flyer. Full Answer Interestingly, the name kangaroo arose from a misunderstanding during a conversation. A European explorer, curious to know the name of the large, strange-looking animals, inquired of an Aborigine. Apparently, the Aborigine was unsure of what the European was asking and replied in his native tongue that he did not understand. The word the Aborigine used, kangaroo, was taken by the explorer to be the name of the animal. This has remained the name for the largest species of the hopping marsupial, as smaller kangaroos are known as wallabies.

Kangaroo (Macropus Giganteus) - Animals - A-Z Animals Five groups that classify all living things Animalia A group of animals within the animal kingdom Chordata A group of animals within a pylum Mammalia A group of animals within a class Diprotodontia A group of animals within an order Macropodidae A group of animals within a family Macropus Comprised of the genus followed by the species Macropus Giganteus The animal group that the species belongs to Mammal What kind of foods the animal eats Omnivore How long (L) or tall (H) the animal is 0.6-1.5m (1.9-4.9ft) The measurement of how heavy the animal is 18-95kg (40-200lbs) The fastest recorded speed of the animal 55km/h (35mph) How long the animal lives for 4-10 years Whether the animal is solitary or sociable Sociable The likelihood of the animal becoming extinct Threatened The colour of the animal's coat or markings Tan, Brown, Grey The protective layer of the animal Fur The specific area where the animal lives Dry forests, desert and grass

land The average number of babies born at once 2 Other animals that hunt and eat the animal Human, Dingo Pouch on female and hop on hind legs Kangaroo Location Map of Oceania Kangaroo The kangaroo is a marsupial that is indigenous to Australia and and the Indonesian island of New Guinea .

Although kangaroos are often seen congregating in groups , kangaroos are generally fairly solitary mammals but kangaroos are also known for being sociable animals when with other kangaroos. Kangaroos have a deep pouch on their front in which to carry their young. A baby kangaroo is called a joey. Kangaroos eat plants, nuts, berries and insects that the kangaroos rummage for in the arid wilderness. Kangaroos are most well known for their ability to jump a phenomenal distance. The kangaroo is the largest of the marsupials, a group an animals that includes koalas and the common brushtail possum . Marsupials are distinguished by the pouch that these animals have on their bellies, in which they carry their young. There are three main species of kangaroo in existence today and these are the red kangaroo , which is the largest and most well-known of all the kangaroo species . The Eastern grey kangaroo is known to be the heaviest species of kangaroo despite the fact that the red kangaroo is taller. The western grey kangaroo can be found in large numbers and can be anywhere in colour from grey to brown.

The kangaroo is the national animal and emblem of Australia. Kangaroos have large, flat feet which the kangaroos use in order to aid their movement which the kangaroos do by hopping. Despite the fact that kangaroos do not move about in the conventional way, kangaroos can often be seen running at high speeds, generally when the kangaroo is scared or being chased by oncoming predators. Although kangaroos are not commercially farmed, wild kangaroos are often pursued by human hunters for sport, meat, fur and when farmers are conserving their grazing land for their sheep and cows . This method of sustainable hunting is said to have more health and environmental benefits than that of sheep and cattle. The average age of a wild kangaroo tends to be less than 10 years, although some kangaroo individuals in the wild have been known to get closer to 20 years old. Kangaroos generally live to about the age of 23 when the kangaroo is in captivity.

Share This Article Kangaroo and Wallaby | San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants SPECIES: 54 ABOUT A well-known mammal: The word kangaroo often brings to mind a picture of a big, bounding critter with long ears and a baby, or joey, peeking out of its mother's pouch. Maybe you envision Kanga and Roo from A. A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh books, or H. A. Rey's Katy No-Pocket from the story of the same name? Either way, kangaroos are perhaps Australia's best-known animal and are found in stories, movies, and even as sports team mascots the world over! The kangaroo's family name, Macropodidae, means "big feet," a great description for kangaroos and their relatives. Kangaroos, wallabies, wallaroos, quokkas, pademelons, potoroos, rat-kangaroos, honey possums, and tree kangaroos are all macropods. Confused about the difference between kangaroos, wallaroos, and wallabies? That's understandable!

There are more than 50 species of these marsupials, and they vary in size from critters you could hold in your hands to the giant red kangaroo that stands as tall as an adult person. The main difference between a kangaroo and all the others is size: the six largest macropods are referred to as kangaroos. Otherwise, they are quite similar. In most species, the hind legs and feet are much larger and more powerful than the forelimbs. Their tail is long, muscular, and thick at the base, helping the animal balance and turn during hopping and providing support when it rests. The kangaroo's muscular design lets it move in a way called saltation that is unique to macropods. This means that it hops, both feet pushing off the ground at the same time. The larger kangaroos can cover over 15 feet (7 meters) per hop when cruising at top speed and have been clocked at more than 30 miles (48 kilometers) per hour in short bursts! Like a perpetual-motion machine, hopping kangaroos are able to keep moving without expending much energy.

In fact, kangaroos actually burn less energy the faster they hop, at least up to their cruising speed of 20 miles (32 kilometers) per hour. In addition to powerful leg muscles, kangaroos have a huge set of tendons in their tail that attach to the hipbones. The combination of these muscles and tendons working together helps kangaroos move efficiently. Wallabies, while smaller in stature, are built and hop in a similar manner. When a kangaroo senses danger, it alerts its fellows by thumping its feet loudly on the ground! It can also communicate by grunting, coughing, or hissing. A mother may make a clicking or clucking sound to call her young. The kangaroo’s hands may be used to fight; this is called boxing. Dingos are a red kangaroo’s only predator. The best-known macropods are the three widespread and common species of large kangaroos. The largest is the red kangaroo, which is found most often on the open plains of inland Australia and can live on very little water. Maroon with a white face and belly, males are often referred to as red flyers.

This species can be over 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall and weigh up to 200 pounds (90 kilograms)! Females, sometimes called blue flyers, are bluish gray and are smaller and faster than the males, reaching speeds of up to 30 miles (48 kilometers) per hour. Red kangaroos can, in an emergency, leap across the outback in 10-foot-high (3 meters) and 39-foot-long (12 meters) bounds. Talk about a spring in your step! Red kangaroos prefer living in open, grassy plains, although they may also be found in scrubland and desert habitat; the slightly smaller gray kangaroos, which need more drinking water than reds, usually inhabit woodlands, though they graze in grassy meadows at night. Those living in the eastern coastal regions have long, silver-gray hair, while those found inland have short, dark gray hair. All three of the large kangaroo species are closely related to the smaller wallabies and wallaroos that thrive in habitats ranging from wet forests to arid grasslands.

There are brush, scrub, swamp, forest, and rock wallabies, which should give some clue as to the vastly different habitats these creatures call their own. Their smaller size lets them fill smaller, more varied niches than their larger cousins. The typical kangaroo design of large, muscular hind legs and smaller forelimbs is nearly reversed in tree kangaroos, since they are climbers rather than hoppers, and they have a long, flexible tail that helps with balance. Most tree kangaroos are found in the dense rain forest canopies of New Guinea, while two species are native to Australia. Like their ground-dwelling relatives, tree 'roos are herbivores and leave their trees at night to eat vegetation and grubs. The major threats to endangered tree kangaroos are loss of habitat, being struck by cars, and being killed by dogs and/or dingoes. HABITAT AND DIET Have to have a habitat: Red kangaroos and gray kangaroos are found in Australia’s savannas and open woodlands. Tiny short-nosed rat-kangaroos or bettongs live in burrows in arid scrubland. Rock wallabies live on almost vertical rock walls in the southern desert.

Tree kangaroos, as you might guess, are found high in the rain forest canopy in New Guinea and Australia, while musky rat-kangaroos scamper through the dense, wet understory below. Red-necked wallabies live in many habitats, including the icy peaks of Tasmania's mountains, and quokkas are found only on two windblown islands off Australia’s southwestern coast. The three largest kangaroo species are so adaptable that they are often found living in public parks, suburban gardens, and even on golf courses! Macropods are herbivores, eating a wide range of plants. In fact, large kangaroos are the Australian equivalent of bison, deer, and cattle. All macropods use their hands to pull down branches to reach leaves and have a chambered stomach that works much like the stomach of ruminants like goats and sheep. They can bring the vegetation they've recently swallowed back up from one chamber, chew it as cud, and then swallow it again for final digestion. Larger kangaroos tend to feed in mobs, though the group size depends on the amount and quality of food that is available.

Most kangaroos and wallabies are grazers, clipping grasses with their teeth as they roam the Australian savanna. Tree kangaroos, however, eat what’s handy for them: leaves, flowers, ferns, moss, and insects. At the San Diego Zoo, the tree kangaroos are offered herbivore pellets, a handful of high-fiber biscuits, vegetables, and daily browse. Our wallabies are offered high-fiber herbivore pellets and grass hay, with greens or veggies for training only, and occasional browse. FAMILY LIFE A group of kangaroos is called a mob, a troop, or a herd. They are very social animals. Think of a kangaroo's famous jabbing and boxing behavior as macropod sign language. Those who study kangaroos say the jab is just one part of a whole vocabulary of glances, hisses, avoidance hops, kicks, punches, gentle touches, and grooming. Recently, behaviorists have discovered that the steps kangaroos take to get to know one another mirror the development of friendship in baboons!

Female kangaroos, called does, and their relatives give birth to tiny, underdeveloped young, called joeys, that are then carried in a special pouch—the marsupium, on the doe's body. Inside the pouch, the joey attaches to a nipple and nurses for several months before venturing out into the world. Joeys often peek their head out of the pouch to have a look around weeks before they head out on their own. Does the joey eliminate (pee and poop) in the pouch? Yes, indeed! When it is very small, the joey doesn’t produce much, and when it gets bigger, some is absorbed through the pouch lining. The pouch can get kind of smelly, though, so the mother cleans out her pouch from time to time. AT THE ZOO From our earliest years, the San Diego Zoo has had red and gray kangaroos and a variety of wallaby species. In 1960, we received our first tree kangaroos as a gift from the Taronga Zoo in Australia.

Today, the San Diego Zoo features Matschie’s and Buergers’ tree kangaroos that show off their agility leaping from branch to branch and shimming up and down tree trunks, and dainty parma wallabies that are worth a second look in our Australian Outback habitat. Both the Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park have macropods serving as animal ambassadors, too. CONSERVATION In 1965, workers on Kawau Island (near Auckland, New Zealand) were attempting to reduce a population of tammar wallabies Macropus eugenii that had been introduced to the island years earlier and were now overrunning the place. They were astonished to discover that some of the animals were not tammar wallabies at all but a miraculously surviving population of parma wallabies Macropus parma, a species thought extinct since the 1890s! The tammar wallaby reduction effort was halted while the parma wallabies were caught and sent to managed-care facilities in Australia and around the world, in the hope that they would reproduce and could eventually be reintroduced to their native habitat.

The renewed interest in the parma wallaby produced another surprise: a few years later, a small population of them was discovered in the forests of New South Wales in Australia! You can help us bring species back from the brink by supporting the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy . Together we can save and protect wildlife around the globe. LIFE SPAN

Question: What is the young of a kangaroo called?
Answer: a JOEY