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Everything you want to know about kangaroos!
Scientists studying the bones of long-dead kangaroos and other marsupials in Australia have discovered an astonishing fact: Nearly all of the larger animals have shrunk. |
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Kangaroo
The Kangaroo is a common marsupial from the islands of Australia and New Guinea. There are 47 species of "roos." Kangaroos can hop up to 40 miles per hour (74 kph) and go over 30 feet (9 m) in one hop. These shy animals live about 6 years in the wild and up to 20 in captivity. |
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Koala
Koalas are found in South Eastern Australia and has been described as an "ash coloured pouched bear". But they are not a bear they are a mammal ( meaning they feed their young on Milk) and are a Marsupial (meaning they carry their developing young mostly in a pouch). |
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Tasmanian Devil
The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) cannot be mistaken for any other marsupial. Its spine-chilling screeches, black colour, and reputed bad-temper, led the early European settlers to call it The Devil. |
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The Basics
Marsupial (mar-soo-pee-uhl) is the name of a large animal group whose young are born in an immature state. Females usually carry and nurse their young in pouches or pouch-like area on their abdomens. |
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Virginia Opossum
The Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is the only living marsupial from North America. It is common in the eastern USA and has spread north and west. This large opossum lives in deciduous forests and prairies. |
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Wallabies
Wallabies are "cousins" of kangaroos. They are different, in that they are smaller, are browsers rather than grazers (that is, they eat native shrubs as well as grazing on grass), and their young mature in a shorter period of time than their kangaroo cousins. |
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Wombats
Wombats are large, lumbering marsupials which live only in Australia. They grow to a length of about 3 feet (1m) and weigh approximately 88 lbs (40kg). |
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