Found in Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea. The term is usually applied only to the larger kangaroos, of the genus Macropus. Smaller species are called wallabies?.
Kangaroos have large and powerful hind legs and feet designed for leaping, balanced by a long muscular tail.
There are almost fifty different species of Kangaroo, and twelve species of the [Rat Kangaroo]?. 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 they move about in herds. In Australia males are called bucks boomers or jacks; females are does, flyers, roos, or jills and the young are joeys. A herd is called a mob.
Kangaroos are not heavily predated, but many types of kangaroo have valuable hides and they have been extensively hunted. 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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