Kangaroo

The word kangaroo is said to derive from the Guugu Yimidhirr (an Australian Aboriginal language) word gangurru, referring to the Grey Kangaroo (see photo to the right). The name was first recorded as kangaru by Joseph Banks on James Cook's first voyage of exploration, when they were beached at the mouth of the Endeavour River in the harbour of modern Cooktown for almost 7 weeks repairing their ship which had been damaged on the Great Barrier Reef.

Kangaroo soon became adopted into standard English where it has come to mean any member of the family of kangaroos and wallabies. The belief that it means "I don't understand" is a popular myth that is also applied to any number of other Aboriginal-sounding Australian words. Male kangaroos are called bucks, boomers or jacks; females are does, flyers, or jills and the young are joeys. The collective noun for kangaroos is a mob. There are three species:

* The Red Kangaroo (Macropus rufus) is the largest surviving marsupial anywhere in the world. Red Kangaroos occupy the arid and semi-arid centre of the continent. A large male can be 1.5 m tall and weigh 85 kg.* The Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) is less well-known than the red (outside of Australia), but the most often seen, as its range covers the fertile eastern part of the continent.* The Western Grey Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus) is slightly smaller again at about 54 kg for a large male. It is found in the southern part of Western Australia, South Australia near the coast, and the Darling River basin.

In addition, there are over 40 smaller macropods that are closely allied to the kangaroos:

* Tree kangaroos are arboreal relatives of the true kangaroo which are found in the dense rainforests of north-east Australia and New Guinea. Several tree kangaroos are endangered, largely because of habitat destruction. * Wallabies are smaller, usually more thick-set, macropods. * A wallaroo is a very large wallaby or a small kangaroo. * Pademelons are small, forest living macropods of around 4 to 6 kg. * The Quokka is a small wallaby-like macropod of Western Australia. * Rat kangaroo is a term loosely applied to any of several very small kangaroo-like marsupials, some from the family Macropodidae, some not. * Kangaroo rats, in contrast, are rodents.

Kangaroos at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Kangaroos have large powerful hind legs, large feet designed for leaping, a long muscular tail for balance, and a small head. They are the only large animals to use hopping as a means of locomotion. The comfortable hopping speed for Red Kangaroos is about 20-25 km/h, but they can hop as fast as 70 km/h over short distances.

Kangaroos are large herbivores, feeding on grass and roots, and they chew cud. All species are nocturnal and crepuscular, usually spending the days idling quietly and the cool evenings, nights and mornings moving about and feeding, typically in groups called mobs. The life expectancy of a kangaroo is about 18 years.

Kangaroos have few natural predators. One of the major natural predators, the Thylacine, is now extinct. However humans arrived in Australia at least 50,000 years ago, and introduced the Dingo about 5000 years ago. The use of dingoes, and later hunting dogs by Europeans, to hunt kangaroos, has resulted in most kangaroos having an emnity for dogs. The mere barking of a dog can set a full-grown male boomer into a wild frenzy. In extreme circumstances, one or more Wedge-tailed Eagles will attack and sometimes kill a kangaroo (even an adult Red), but only when no more suitably-sized food is available. Goannas and other carnivorous reptiles also pose a danger to the smaller kangaroo species when other food sources are lacking.

Along with dingoes and other canids, introduced species like foxes and feral cats also pose a threat to kangaroo populations, as they do most native populations. Kangaroos and wallabies are apt swimmers, and often flee into waterways if presented with the option. If pursued into the water, a large kangaroo may use its forepaws to hold the predator underwater to drown it.