Red Kangaroo
To see pictures of animals click the blue dot..The red kangaroo is the largest of the many species of marsupial, or pouched animal, and is found only in Australia. It sustains itself on a diet of nothing but grass and shrubs. Standing as tall as, or taller than, a man, the adult male red kangaroo is recognized by its reddish colored fur. The females and young are a bluish gray color. The red kangaroo is widespread throughout the arid central region of Australia and has few predators.
Habit: The red kangaroo is a grazing animal which inhabits Australia's arid interior region. The kangaroos are widespread and live together in groups, called mobs, of more than one hundred animals. The home range of the kangaroo is approximately 115 square miles. Each group of kangaroos contains at least one adult male. If there are several males in the group, the dominant male will lead the mob.
The red kangaroo is a nocturnal animal. Remaining inactive during the day helps it to stay cool. It rests under the shade of trees or shrubs, and sometimes digs a shallow depression in the ground in which it lies to escape the heat. The kangaroos forearms, which have no fur, carry blood vessels close to the surface of the skin. In high temperatures, the kangaroo will lick its forearms to help cool itself. It will also pant to get rid of excess body heat.
Breeding: The dominant male in a mob of red kangaroos has access to all females for mating. A female is fertile throughout the year, but she can time her breeding to coincide with the availability of food and water. Gestation is little more than a month. The young kangaroo is still quite undeveloped when born, but its forearms are strong enough for it to crawl into its mothers pouch. Because she can breed continuously, a female kangaroo produces different kinds of milk to meet the nutritional needs of more than one offspring at a time. A joey that has left the pouch requires fat rich milk for energy; its pouch bound younger sibling gets more carbohydrates.
Food and Feeding: The red kangaroo feeds on grass and the foliage of low growing shrubs. Kangaroos are usually found near watercourses – both natural and man-made – where plant growth is more plentiful. Red kangaroos wander extensively over their home range. When rain falls on the desert areas, they gather to feed on plant seedlings that suddenly germinate. The red kangaroo can go for long periods without water if necessary.
Red Kangaroo and Man: The red kangaroo has long been hunted by man for its meat and skin, first by the aborigines and then by settlers. Today, the red kangaroo is considered a pest by farmers, whose sheep and cattle must compete with it for the available grass. Where man has created water holes for grazing livestock, the kangaroos also take advantage of the supply. Because they can leap such great distances, farmers find it almost impossible to fence kangaroos out of their livestock grazing areas.
Key Facts: Sizes, Breeding, Lifestyle, and
Related Species:
Sizes:
Height: Head and body length, up to 5
ft. Tail, up to 3 ft.
Weight: Males, up to 200 lb., but usually
120 lb. Females, 65 lb.
Breeding:
Sexual maturity: 18 months years
Mating: Year round, but dependent on availability
of food.
Gestation: 33 days. 6-11 months spent
in the pouch
No. of Young: 1
Lifestyle:
Habit: Nocturnal. Lives in herds
Diet: Grasses, shrubs, and leaves
Life span: 12-18 years. Up to 25 years
in captivity
Related Species: Wallabies belong to the
same family as the kangaroo, and together there are over 50 different species.
Distribution: Found only in the interior
of Australia, where it is widespread in desert and semi desert regions.
Conservation: In spite of over 3 million
kangaroos being killed each year because of competition with domestic livestock,
the red kangaroo is still one of the most numerous of kangaroo species
and in no danger of extinction.
The Development of the Young: After birth, the young kangaroo uses its strong forearms to crawl into its mothers pouch by way of a trail of saliva she places on her abdomen. Kangaroos can breed continuously – a female often nurses two offspring at a time. In its mothers pouch, the naked joey instantly takes hold of a nipple and remains attached to it foe 70 days. By the time it leaves the pouch, it weighs about 7 pounds. A young kangaroo continues to feed from its mother until it is a year old.
Did You Know: A red kangaroo can travel
up to 40 miles per hour. It can also jump more than 40 feet in a single
leap.
Adult male red kangaroos are called “boomers;”
females are called “blue fliers.”
At birth, a red kangaroo is no bigger than a
human thumb, but a mature kangaroo can be taller than a man.
Strong tendons in the kangaroos hind legs provide
effortless propulsion for its bounding leaps.
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