1. Where to observe kangaroos in Australia?
Kangaroos are found over a very large part of Australia as far away as Tasmania. Leaving Australian cities you will soon see the famous yellow signs indicating their presence on the roadside. With a little luck and patience, you may see it from the window of your car.
Here are some places where you can easily spot free-roaming kangaroos and wallabies:
- In Namadgi and Kosciuszko National Parks in the Australian Alps,
- New South Wales: Pebbly Beach
- South Australia: Kangaroo Island; in the Flinders Ranges; Gawler Ranges National Park
- Victoria: Along the Great Ocean Road including Great Otway National Park; in the Grampians Park
- Tasmania: In Freycinet National Park and on Maria Island
- Queensland: Cape Hillsborough Nature Tourist Park; Magnetic Island; Girraween National Park
- Western Australia: Esperance at Lucky Bay
- In the Outback and the Bush or near cities like Alice Springs or Chris Barnes' orphanage.
Of course, you can also observe these animals in Australian zoos and animal parks. You can get very close to them at Taronga zoo in Sydney, Healesville Sanctuary near Melbourne, or the Kangaroo Sanctuary in the Northern Territory for example.
2. When is there a better chance of seeing kangaroos?
Kangaroos can be seen year-round in Australia. However, the best times to see them are at dawn or dusk. It is at this time that they come out of hiding to feed in herds in the meadows.
When the sun is high in the sky, this nocturnal animal will mainly seek to cool off. They will then be seen lying in shallow holes that they dig with their claws to find cooler soil or shelter in the shade of undergrowth. By grooming and licking his front legs, he will also seek to limit the impact of the Australian heat.
3. Kangaroo characteristics
The kangaroo derives its power from its large tail which serves as a pendulum and its particularly muscular hind limbs. However, it is these same assets that handicap him to walk and prevent him from backing up. The most muscular kangaroos can make leaps that can exceed 3 meters in height and 13 meters in length. Some kangaroos can reach speeds of 70 km/hour.
The kangaroo, even in the English language, is not very causative. Depending on the species, it coughs, growls, or rattles but there is no cry to speak of. They mainly use 3 senses: hearing, sight, and smell. And if he can swim, it is not natural for him either.
4. The different species
Kangaroos and wallabies are marsupials of the family Macropodidae. If they are considered marsupials it is because they raise their young in a ventral pouch. There are also 55 different species of kangaroos and wallabies in Australia (gray kangaroo, antelope, red ...). It is their size and weight, their coat, their habitat, and their eating habits that will differentiate them.
Although kangaroos are not very aggressive and can be approached, it is necessary to remain vigilant, especially in the face of a muscular kangaroo. It is a wild animal. It has claws on its front legs. Its hind legs are powerful. Its long tail is muscular.
Kangaroo or wallaby?
If the Red Kangaroo is known to be the largest living marsupial in the world, wallabies are not far from being the smallest. Wallabies are therefore considered to be a small species. Most kangaroos live in small groups.
5. What does the kangaroo eat?
The kangaroo is herbivorous. It, therefore, feeds on grasslands, leaves, and tree shoots. However, some species are also known to be insectivorous. The older ones can store in their stomach up to 4 or 5 kilos of plants.The Kangaroo is perfectly adapted to Australia because it consumes very little water and can go several days without drinking.
It is at the end of the day, when the heat subsides, that it activates. He will then take the opportunity to go and eat.
6. Kangaroo reproduction
One male kangaroo fertilizes about 20 females. Males usually fight each other before mating to decide who will fertilize the female. Fights are sometimes violent and can create significant injuries because of the costs involved. They lean on their tails as if they were a tripod to hit their opponent with their hind legs.
7. The kangaroo baby and its mother
The baby kangaroo grows and lives for more than a year in its mother's marsupial pouch and drinks her milk.
Sympathetically nicknamed Joey by the Australians, the infant was born at a very immature stage (no more than 2cm per 1 gram). Hairless at birth, his eyesight will not function for several months. Clinging from birth to one of his mother's 4 nipples, it will take several weeks for the newborn to begin to wake up and dare to get out of his mother's ventral pouch.
When she moves by jumping, the muscles of her mother's belly act like real elastics to prevent Joey from falling out of his belly pouch.
A kangaroo mother can have up to three babies simultaneously: a baby that is able to come out of the pouch, a younger one that still lives in the pouch, and an embryo whose development is paused. Mothers have the ability to pause their pregnancy in certain circumstances. If food runs out or if she hasn't weaned her previous cub yet.
8. How many kangaroos are there in Australia?
There are about 50 million kangaroos in Australia. Even if this figure changes, it is therefore not an endangered species.However, climate change could ultimately have a negative impact on the habitat and therefore the population of certain species.
9. Kangaroo controversies
If kangaroos are a symbol of Australia for any foreigner, in Australia the animal divides. Many farmers consider them pests. They feel that they are too numerous because they have too few predators (fox, dingo) and that they harm their sheep farms. Beatings with "targeted and controlled sampling" are regularly organized under the direction of the Australian states and government. They are intended to better manage the population of this marsupial in certain areas of the country.
In addition, animal rights associations are offended by these hunts and the existence of farms with farmed kangaroos. They produce kangaroo meat, which is eaten and enjoyed in Australia, and leather. This practice has existed since the eighteenth century.
In recent years, such as koalas and other mammals and animals from the Australian continent. The kangaroo is a victim of global warming, deforestation, and fires. Aridity reduces its grazing areas and gradually modifies the places where it lives essentially. However, it is not considered an endangered species.
10. Where does the word "kangaroo" come from?
The word "kangaroo" comes from a misunderstanding between the first settlers who arrived in Australia and the aborigines encountered. When the former asked the latter what is the name of this funny animal that jumps to move, the aborigines answered "Kangaroo" which means "not understanding" in their dialect. From that moment on the animal was baptized...A male is nicknamed "Boomer", a female
"Flyer" and a young or baby will be called "Joey".
Post a Comment