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The scientific name for Kangaroos and Wallabies is ' Macropods' this means 'big foot' they are Marsupials which means they have pouches and they are Mammals which means they produce milk for their babies .
Kangaroos usually live in family groups called Mobs . These Mobs can be as large as 100 , many of the smaller Wallabies and Kangaroo Rats live alone .
When living as a family group or Mob , some Roos act as guards and look out for danger . If they sense danger they will bang their tails on the ground and leap suddenly scattering the Mob . When a female with a Joey senses danger she will often hide her Joey in some bushes and leap away to draw the predator after her and away from her Joey in order to protect it .
Kangaroos and Wallabies only have one baby at a time but as the Joey starts to grow and can leave the pouch for short times , the mother Kangaroo will often have a second baby. The newly born baby Kangaoo is very small only about the size of your thumb , after it is born it crawls up and into mum's pouch and attaches it's self to it's mothers teat , which then swells in its mouth and holds the Joey in place . For the first 3 months the Joey has no fur and its eyes are closed for the first 4 months , when the Joey is between 6 and 8 months old it will start to leave it's Mothers pouch for short times and by the time it is 9 months old it is permanently out of the pouch .
Kangaroos and Wallabies eat grasses , leaves and roots mostly , however some Wallabies will eat berries and fruit . They only like grass which is green and close to the ground leaving the longer drier grasses for other grazing animals . It is not good to feed native animals human foods as it can make them sick and they become vulnerable to disease .
Kangaroos and Wallabies are mostly night time creatures , prefering to avoid the hot days . They sleep during the day under a shady tree or bush but they may venture out for a little snack between sleeps . They usually only drink at sunrise and sunset when it is safer as they are very easy to attack while drinking . They are always very careful when approaching a water hole to check for predators , and as a Mob moves in to drink the guards are ever watchful ready to alert the rest of their family at the slightest hint of danger .
Kangaroos are a strange looking animal with large pointed ears capable of rotating 180 degrees helping them to hear danger from any direction , they have small front legs , huge hind legs with great big feet and a long powerful tail . The tail is used for balance and as a rudder when leaping . When standing the tail of a Kangaroo is used like an extra leg helping them to stand . Sometimes male Kangaroos will fight , when they do they can be seen to stand on their tails only , using both hind (back) legs for kicking and front legs are used for punching , they are very strong animals . Kangaroos have 4 toes on their hind feet 2 of these are very small . Wallabies use their front legs to hold food while Kangaroos bend down and use them for balancing while eating . These animals cannot 'walk' they can only hop with both feet moving together , however when they swim they move their legs one at a time . They have great difficulty moving backwards .
The larger breeds of Kangaroo can live to be as old as 25 years in captivity however the average lifespan is between 12 and 20 years of age .
There are about 60 species of Macropods the largest of these is the Red Kangaroo which can reach up to 7 feet (over 2 metres ) in height and the smallest is the Kangaroo Rat which will grow to only 6 inches (15cms) tall .
Kangaroos and Wallabies have species which are adapted to almost every imaginable habitat , there are some who live in the desert , some which live on rocky outcrops , some in dense scrub or open pastures and yet others which live their lives in trees .
The largest of the Kangaroos species is the Red Kangaroo , the males are called 'Boomers' and are a deep browny red colour . The females are called 'Blue Fliers' and are a bluey grey colour . As with all of the macropods the females are much smaller in size than the males , but with this Red Kangaroo species the male may grow to be twice the size of the female . The average male weighs 65kg but can be as heavy as 85kg and females weigh only around 26kgs . When born a Red Kangaroo is only about 1.5 cms long but will grow to be bigger than a tall man .In full flight a Boomer may bound at speeds of around 65km/h in leaps as long as 12 metres . The Red lives in the dry hot inland areas of Australia keeping away from the dense bush but will shelter under a tree in the middle of the day to avoid the heat .
Tasmanias only true Kangaroo is the Eastern Grey or 'Forester' it is a protected species and may not be hunted . The Forester is only marginally smaller than it's cousin the Red Kangaroo with not such a marked difference in sizes between males and females as with the Red . A Forester male may grow up to 2.1m and the female to 1.8m . They can reach speeds of up to 64km/h on open ground with records showing they can jump as far as 13.5m in a single bounding leap , although this is unusual , the average leap would be 7-9 metres . The Forester has remarkable endurance , one was reported to have been chased at high speed for 30km by a man on horseback after which it was said to have swum out to sea for another 3km . The Eastern Grey dislikes hot weather and will spend most ot the day resting in the shade of trees or shrubs , if the day is exceptionally hot they will dig out a hollow in the ground and rest in the cooler exposed soil .
There are 8 species of Tree kangaroo 6 of these living in Papua New Guinea . While still classified as Kangaroos they are physically much different to other species of Kangaroo . The Tree Kangaroos body has developed to suit its tree dwelling lifestyle , its forearms are thick and muscular almost equal in size to the hind legs , unlike other Kangaroos its hind legs can move independantly and it prefers to walk than to hop . In order to grip branches more efficiently the feet have adapted having thick rough cushion-like pads on the soles of the feet and mobile toes with curved claws . The tail is remarkably long which helps to balance the animal when climbing and feeding in the tree tops . Tree Kangaroos prefer to live alone or in groups of up to 4 and are more active at night time . They spend most of their time up in the tree tops , and when resting or asleep crouch on a high branch . Tree Kangaroos eat leaves and fruit , foraging both on the ground and in the trees . Like other Kangaroos a female will give birth to a single Joey however once weaned the Joey will continue to develop in the pouch for over a year , spending much longer in the pouch than other Kangaroo species . The Tree kangaroo is a very agile creature moving quickly through the trees , it is able to leap 9 metres from branch to branch and can jump to the ground from a height of 18 metres or more .
