Kangaroo is the commonest big animal found in the Australian sub-continent. The Kangaroo is of great historic and cultural significance to the people and country of Australia. It is Australia’s national symbol.
The Kangaroo is classified as a Marsupial, as a Mammal and also a Macropod. It is a mammal because the female Kangaroo feeds and nourishes its young ones by the special Mammary Glands. It is a Marsupial because the female Kangaroo has a special pouch on its body in which it carries its young ones. And it is called a Macropod because it has big, strong and muscular hind legs.
So you can easily recognize and differentiate a Kangaroo from all other animals, because it is a big, tall animal, with a small triangular head. It stands on its strong and muscular hind [back] legs, with parts of the legs flat on the ground, and the rest of the body raised straight in air while standing. Also its front legs are short and hanging in the air. It has a strong and muscular tail which also supports its body while stationary and in motion along with its two hind legs.
Movement and Locomotion
Kangaroo uses its hind legs and the tail to stand and to hop about. The fastest mode of movement for a Kangaroo is hopping where it hops using the strength of its hind legs and its tail. It can hop and travel very fast even at speeds ranging around 50 kilometres per hour if necessary. The Australian country landscape is wide, open and expansive; and sometimes the Kangaroos have had to adapt themselves to travel long distances in search of food and water. But at slower speeds the Kangaroo also uses its front legs along with its hind legs and tail for a kind of a mixture of running and hopping.
Diet
All species of Kangaroos are herbivores. They feed by grazing. They do not eat other animals. They graze on different species of grass, shrubs, small bushes and small plants. Their dental structure and digestive system is also adapted to eating grass and shrubs.
Kangaroos are a unique marsupial and are of national significance in Australia.
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