Kangaroos

Kangaroos

Kangaroos are without doubt Australia’s most instantly recognised animals. The largest species is the Red Kangaroo of inland Australia. Males can tip the scales at a hefty 92 kilograms. The smallest, the Musky Rat Kangaroo from Queensland’s Wet Tropics weighs little more than 500 grams.

Three of our most well-known species, the Red, Eastern Grey and Common Wallaroo are displayed in this exhibition, with clues on how to identify them.

Kangaroos belong to a group called macropods, meaning long-footed. The group includes kangaroos, wallabies, rat-kangaroos, pademelons, rock-wallabies, hare-wallabies, potoroos, bettongs, tree kangaroos and the quokka. Australia is home to 51 living species, 32 of which occur in Queensland.

Kangaroos are superbly designed for Australia’s unpredictable and often harsh conditions. Females of many species fall pregnant as soon as their young are born. With a joey in the pouch they can arrest the development of the embryo at an early stage. In drought years the pouch young might die, triggering development of the embryo to replace it. This will continue until conditions improve and the young survive. This unusual but effective means of delaying development of the foetus is called ‘embryonic diapause’.

The kangaroos’ effortless bounding motion is extremely efficient, requiring less energy than an equivalent-sized mammal running on all fours. Between each powerful leap, energy is stored in elastic ligaments in the hind limbs, while the tail acts as a counter-weight.

Want to know more about Kangaroos? Download the fact sheet from our Inquiry Centre.