According to the myth, in 1770 Captain Cook asked the natives in Queensland, Australia, for the name of the strange, big, jumping animal. Their reply was “kangaroo,” which supposedly meant, “I don’t understand you.” Later the researchers revealed that this is nothing but a funny legend.
But here are some real and interesting facts about this amazing Australian aborigine:
- Kangaroos are excellent jumpers. They can jump for a distance of up to 12 meters while jumping up to 3 meters high. At the same time, kangaroos are not able to jump backward.
- In critical situations, kangaroos stand on their tail and attack the enemy with two hind legs, causing the enemy serious injuries.
- Baby kangaroos or joeys are born with a body size of only 25 mm. This is the smallest mammal baby in comparison with the size of an adult animal. After birth, the joey moves into the pouch on the female’s belly, where it continues to develop for another ~8 months.
- The joeys are born so weak that they cannot even suck milk on their own – it is simply injected into their mouth at regular intervals. If during the movement into the mother’s pouch the newborn falls, the mother is not able to lift it and the joey dies.
- Some kangaroos have the unique ability to completely stop the development of fertilized embryos. If at the time of mating, the female already has an embryo, the new embryo will not begin to develop until the older baby grows up or dies.
- Even after leaving the pouch, it continues to feed off the mother for approximately a year and a half. Females produce two different types of milk, one for newborns and another for more mature joeys.
- During periods of drought, a female kangaroo loses the ability to conceive.
- The large ears of kangaroos can rotate, each ear by 180ᵒ, so all in all, they can scan the full 360ᵒ.
Featured image by pen_ash from Pixabay
Related Articles:
Facebook Comments