How Far Can A Kangaroo Jump
Tuesday, August 16th, 2005G’day, boys and girls. It is time for another “Totally Useless Information” and this time, I will talk about the furry animall from down under.
Kangaroos are one of the strangest and oldest species of animals on earth today. We know that there was a kind of kangaroo in existence hundreds of thousands of years ago which was nearly as large as a horse!
Today kangaroos are found in Australia, which is sometimes called the “Land of Kangaroos,” and even has this animal on its national coat of arms.
The kangaroo is the best-known of the marsupials, which means “animals with pouches.” The mother kangaroo has a fur-lined pouch between her hind legs in which she carries the young and nurses it. A young kangaroo lives in this pouch until it’s a pretty good size.
When a baby kangaroo is born, it’s a tiny, pink, naked mass, not much over an inch long! The mother places it in the pouch right after birth and the baby is quite helpless for some time. But by the time it’s six months old, it’s as large as a puppy. It rides around inside the pouch with its head sticking out. When mama stops to feed on the tree branches, the young baby pulls off leaves at the same time and feeds itself.
Even after a young kangaroo has been taught to walk and run by its mother, it likes to stay in the warm, safe pouch. And when danger threatens, the mother hops over to it, picks it up in her mouth without stopping, and drops it safely into her pouch.
A full-grown kangaroo stands about 2 metres tall. It has short front legs with small paws, and a very long hind legs. These powerful hind legs enable a kangaroo to take jumps of 3 to 4.5 metres at a time! The kangaroo uses its big, long tail to rest and to balance itself when jumping.
In Australia, kangaroos are hunted because they kill the crops. But they also make good eating, and their skin produces good, strong leather. The kangaroo’s protection is its speed and its ability to hear an enemy at a great distance. When a kangaroo is cornered by hunting dogs, it can seize a dog with its forefeet and kill it with one swing of its hindfoot!
Source: More Tell Me Why by Arkady Leokum
Wow. That’s a bit morbid. But now we know more about the kangaroos. Typing this article reminded me of the time when a relative give my sister (I think she was around 7 that time) a stuffe ‘roo. It was quite hideous and I don’t remember if she ever played with it. If i remember correctly, I was the one who played around with the toy. I was already 16 then. I don’t know what happened to the toy but I have a feeling that mom donated it to charity. But since we’re speaking about an animal from Australia, let me tell you about my ex-bf who’s an Australian. His name is Benjamin Willard and he was younger than me by 2 years. It was a long distance romance but I needed more…intimacy and proximity I guess. So I dumped him. And he said I ruined his life but I really don’t think so because he had lots of girlfriends after me while I am still single up to now. I wonder what ever happened to that guy. I just hope he is alright.
And now for some Roo photos…
And then to my tin can with class ;)
