Reading - Part 3

Most kangaroos live on the continent of Australia, though each species has its own favourite place for living. For example, the musky rat-kangaroo likes to nest down in little nests on the floor of the rainforests in northeastern Queensland. Gray kangaroos like the forests of Tasmania. The antilopine kangaroo can be found in the eucalyptus woodlands of extreme northern Australia. Small tree-kangaroos live in the upper branches of trees in the rainforests of Queensland, as well as on the island of New Guinea.

Kangaroos are the only large animals that hop to move around. Their springy hind legs and feet are much stronger and larger than their arms. Kangaroos can cover 7 metres in a single hop, and can hop as fast as 48 km/h. When feeding, kangaroos use a slower, walking movement, and for that they use their muscular tail, pushing off the ground as they move along. Kangaroos are social animals. They live in groups called a mob, a herd or a troop. Kangaroos in a mob will groom each other and protect each other from danger.

Probably the best-known fact about kangaroos is that they carry their young in a pouch. A female kangaroo can give birth to up to four offspring at one time, though this is unusual. At birth, the baby, called a joey, can be as small as a grain of rice. When the joey is born, it is guided safely into the comfy pouch, where it develops for another 4 to 15 months. Inside the pouch, the joey is protected and fed with milk. Joeys grow quickly, and at 14 to 20 months for females, or 2 to 4 years for males, they will be fully matured.

According to the Red List of Threatened Species, 16 species of tree-kangaroos and rat-kangaroos are listed as either near-threatened, threatened, vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The desert rat-kangaroo and the short-nosed rat-kangaroo are considered completely extinct. Current studies show that global warming could also kill off the world's smallest kangaroo. However, the four species of great kangaroos - the species that are much larger than other kangaroos are not endangered.

Kangaroos are large marsupials that are found only in Australia. They are identified by their muscular tails, strong back legs, large feet, short fur and long, pointed ears. Like all marsupials, a sub-type of mammal females have pouches where their young live until they are old enough to emerge. According to National Geographic, the largest kangaroo, as well as the largest marsupial, is the red kangaroo. The smallest kangaroo is the musky rat-kangaroo. It is only 15 to 20 cm long, and weighs 340 grams.

Kangaroos are mainly herbivores. They eat grasses, flowers, leaves, ferns, moss, and even insects. Like cows, kangaroos bring their swallowed food up again to the mouth and re-chew it before it is ready to be totally digested. Great kangaroos mainly roam forests in search of food, though they do go to open grasslands for grazing. Small species, like rat-kangaroos, eat worms, roots, and palm berries. The animal sits on its haunches while eating and finds food by digging. They are solitary, but have been seen feeding together.