Kangaroo Research Paper

Kangaroos Kangaroos are the best known of the marsupials. They are the largest marsupial surviving on earth today and are found all over Australia, Tasmania and Papua New Guinea.

There are between forty and fifty varieties of kangaroo. The smaller ones usually called wallabies and ranging in size from the two-pound rock wallaby to the 6 foot, 300 pound, red kangaroo.

The kangaroo moves by hopping on its hind legs as they are very powerful. It uses its tail to balance itself and also for steering. A kangaroo can travel at speeds up to 60km p/h, it can also jump obstacles up to 3 metres high. However, it does struggle to move backwards due to the shape of the hind legs and bulkiness of its tail.

The red kangaroo is the largest marsupial in the world, with heights of 9 feet being reported in the male.

The rock wallaby grows between just under a metre to not quite 3.5 metres, (30 to 104 cm), with a weight of 2 to 24 kg. There a quite a few different species of the rock wallaby, living in different areas of Australia, Tasmania and Papua New Guinea.

Some kangaroos face danger to the extent that some can and already have become extinct. Some of the dangers they face are drought, bushfires, vehicle accidents, being shot and loss of habitat due to new houses and shopping centres being built. Foxes are introduced predators that kill the smaller of the species. Feral dogs and cats also prey on smaller wallabies and the joeys of larger kangaroos. Some species of kangaroo have overpopulated the country, as they can reproduce fairly quickly. Also, due to the extermination of the Tasmanian wolf, which was a natural predator to the kangaroos. Kangaroos stick together in groups called mobs which can range from a few kangaroos to one hundred kangaroos. The Kangaroo, along with the Emu, were selected for the Australian Coat of Arms, as