Can kangaroos walk?« Back to Questions List

Kangaroos belong to a class of mammals called marsupials. They are different from other mammals because they are born at a very early stage of development and that’s why they are carried around inside the pouch. The embryo spends very little time inside the mother’s body (about a month’s time) and climbs up to the mother’s pouch coming out of the her reproductive tract. The pouch is where they get their milk. Only about six months after birth, young one leaves the pouch.

       
The hind legs of the kangaroos are larger and stronger compared to their forelegs. They hop on their hind legs using their tail for balance when speeding. The tail also acts as an extra foot when moving on all fours. In open places, bigger kangaroos can travel 40 miles an hour bounding 25 feet or more at full stretch. When they speed up, they increase their range of hop instead of number of hops. The size of their heart is twice as big as mammal of the same size and so they have a great deal of physical strength. Hoping causes their stomach muscles to contract and expand forcing air in and out of their lungs.

When a kangaroo tries to walk or move slowly, tail acts as a fifth leg. Balancing with the help of tail, it moves forward slowly with its smaller forelegs. They cannot walk on all the four legs because except while swimming, kangaroos cannot move their hind legs independently of each other.

What is meant by symbiosis with respect to the animal kingdom?

Why do porous objects appear darker when wet?