Aussie ABC - K is for Kangaroo!

Still life with Lighthouse and Kangaroo, Southern Yorke Peninsula, South Australia

 

The ubiquitous Kangaroo is such an integral part of the landscape downunder that its iconic silhouette universally symbolises Australia.

The QANTAS logo, Plane in the Paddock

Yet to many of us Aussies they're so commonplace we no longer marvel at the amazingly intricate biological system within this unique and oddly shaped animal. And we roll our eyes at the tourists who gleefully pose for kangaroo souvenir shots.

SO ... as is also commonplace downunder, we let the unusual attributes of this wonder of nature pass us by! 

How to portray this highly complex endemic creature? An animal with a strange, balletic grace when in full flight and at full speed, yet with an awkward, shambling walk. And yes, flight IS the right word to describe how a bounding kangaroo appears to float across the landscape, through the shimmering heat waves and off into the distance far more quickly than appears possible.

That's why the flying kangaroo symbolises quintessential Australiana. And a study of the facts about this bizarre wild animal shows the truth IS far stranger than fabrication!

Kangaroo Aircraft Logo



So lets stick to the facts! And some photos …

1. The kangaroo (along with another endemic, the emu) is featured on the Australian Coat of Arms …
2. … reportedly because neither can walk backwards!
3. AND … Australians are possibly the only nation in the world to eat both animals on its Coat of Arms! Not sure if that's something to be proud of …
   
   
   

4. 

   Big Red, Exmouth, Western Australia

   … although Kangaroo meat is very lean, with around 2% fat.

5. 

   Kangaroo Footprints

   With kangaroo numbers estimated at around 23 million (in 1996), they're perhaps the only creature to have actually thrived since European settlement, with land clearing, cropping and pasture forming new habitats to which they have readily adapted
6. And that's despite an estimated 20,000 annual vehicle collisions with kangaroos!
7. Hitting a kangaroo can cause LOTS of damage! As I found early one morning heading to work in the predawn mist when a kangaroo leapt out of nowhere in front of my car. Although I wasn't travelling very fast, the impact killed the kangaroo, permanently dented the bullbar AND destroyed the radiator. Luckily I was less than 1km from home …

8. 

   Kangaroos at Halls Gap, Victoria

   Car manufacturer Holden has a kangaroo crash test dummy – dubbed Robo Roo! This 59 kg composite helps study car collisions with kangaroos to improve safety features. Pity my crash was in a Subaru ...
9. The largest recorded kangaroo was around 3 metres (9' 7'') tall
10. The Red Kangaroo is the largest living marsupial at up to 2.7 metres high (9 ft); and the Eastern Grey is the heaviest with males up to 95 kg (~200 lb)
11. Kangaroos have been clocked at speeds of 40 – 70 kph (24-42 mph) …
12. … Can cover up to 12 metres (~42 ft) in one leap …
13. … AND can jump as high as 3.5 metres (10½ feet)!
14. Kangaroos belong to the Macropodidae family, and are part of Australia's claim to having the most marsupials in the world – around 150 species.
15. An adult male kangaroo is colloquially known as a boomer, buck or Old Man;
16. An adult female is a flying doe, or flier;
17. A Joey is an immature kangaroo, usually in the pouch.

18. 

    Cania Gorge Campground with Kangaroo

    Mob is the collective noun for a group of kangaroos!
19. And most Aussies refer to them as 'roos!
20. An adult female kangaroo is almost continually pregnant and lactating.
21. 'An heir and a spare' is a saying almost custom made for the kangaroo – while still feeding her joey, a second egg can be fertilized – but embryo development is placed 'on hold' until the current joey is almost ready to leave the pouch.
22. The next joey is born when the first leaves the pouch, but the mother continues to feed both simultaneously – with different milk for the older and younger joeys!
23. 

    

    Kangaroo Art, Scenic Public Toilet, Corny Point, South Australia

    Skippy the Bush Kangaroo was one of Australia's most successful TV show exports although it was banned in Sweden because it was considered the show would make children believe in the animals' unnatural powers!
    
    
24. The clicking sound Skippy makes is based on an actual sound made by kangaroos to communicate with each other.
25. Although the grunts and groans of copulating kangaroos can sound almost human … as Pilchard and I found one day on a walk through the scrub. Pilchard bravely went into the bush to investigate the odd grunting sound we heard on the off chance someone was hurt. Wrong! We left them to it … don't want to mess with – or interrupt – a big boomer!!
26. Especially as successful copulation can last up to 50 minutes!
27. Kangaroos are found almost everywhere except above the snow line.

28. 

    Kangas on the Beach, Exmouth, Western Australia

    The strangest place we ever saw them was on a beach near Western Australia's Exmouth, where they were digging holes in the sand and resting therein.
29. It's illegal to have a dead kangaroo in your possession without a permit.  NO WAY!!
30. The Big Kangaroo is off the beaten track at Border Village, on the SA/WA border!

31. 

    Halls Gap Caravan Park, Grampians, Victoria

    Boxing with kangaroos was – and still is – a popular sport at country fairs, although there are moves afoot to have it banned.
32. 'Kangaroo' is derived from 'gangurru', an indigenous word from the Guugu Yimithirr language of Far North Queensland
33. A 'kangaroo court' describes a mock court where no consideration is given to legal principles.
34. 'A few 'roos loose in the top paddock' is a colloquial Aussie term for someone who's a little bit mad!
35. Although we once had one in our garden for awhile, the most kangaroos I've EVER seen in one place was in Halls Gap, Grampians, Victoria!

Yes, there IS a kangaroo smack bang in the middle of this White Cliffs, NSW landscape!!

SO … how many of these 35 facts about the Kangaroo did you REALLY know??

Have YOU got a blog post with a kangaroo photo?  Link it up HERE!!

 

 

 

I've linked this post to Camera Critters!! For LOTS more great photos of amazing animals from around the world, visit Camera Critters NOW!

Have you missed any of the Aussie Alphabet Series? Catch up HERE!

• J is for Jabiru
• I is for Islands
• H is for Holiday
• G is for Gorge
• F is for Fossils
• E is for Emu
• D is for Dune
• C is for Crocodile
• B is for Bushranger
• A is for Alice Springs