Found in Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea. Kangaroos have large powerful hind legs, large feet designed for leaping, a long muscular tail for balance, and a small head. The terms kangaroo and Roo are commonly applied to the larger species of the family, smaller species are generally called wallabies?, and the smallest dozen are named [Rat Kangaroo]?s.
The largest is the Red Kangaroo (Macropus rufus, also Plains Kangaroo, Blue Doe and Blue Flyer), it is also the largest marsupial in the world. Living in central Australia it stands taller than a man and can weigh 90 kgs, it can hop at up to 60 km/hr in nine metre bounds. The other large species are Western Grey Kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus, also Black faced Kangaroo and Mallee Kangaroo) and Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus, also Grey Kangaroo, Forester kangaroo and Scrub Kangaroo).
The single young is born after a gestation of about 40 days and is suckled in the mother's pouch for about six months. After it begins to graze it often returns to the pouch for shelter and transport until it is too large. They live around six years in the wild but can last for up to twenty years in captivity.
Kangaroos are herbivores, they feed on grass and roots, and chew cud. Depending on species they are active day or night and the large kangaroo species move about in herds. The large Reds and Greys have faired well since European settlement removed dingos and created vast grasslands intended for sheep and cattle, while several specialist kangaroos have suffered from loss of forest and mountain habitat. Some international activists have undertaken campaigns to prevent the culling or farming of kangaroos, presumably misunderstanding the differences between diffent species. Males are called bucks boomers or jacks; females are does, flyers, roos, or jills and the young are joeys. The collective noun for Kangaroos is a mob.
Kangaroos are not heavily predated, and some grassland-dwelling species have actually increased in number after European settlement extended their range and made more water supplies available. Some of these grassland species are culled by professional hunters in some areas, and the meat (which is tasty, tender, and low in fat when prepared correctly) and hides are sold. Some conservationists have claimed that selective hunting practices (targeting young adult males) has put the population at risk, but there seems little evidence of a reduction in the abundance of the large grassland species. Some of the smaller, forest-dwelling species (including the various species of wallaby?), are however endangered with the reduction in habitat through massive land clearing.
They also suffer from an virus which attacks the visual centres of the brain.
The word kangaroo derives from the [Guugu Yimidhirr]? (an Australian aboriginal language) word for kangaroo, gangurru. The popular belief that it means "I don't understand" is a myth.
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