Kangaroos!!

Imagine seeing an animal hopping across the sunny lands of Australia. An animal that could be 6 feet tall or small enough to fit in your hand. Many people think of kangaroos as a symbol of the Outback. They live almost everywhere across the continent. These amazing animals have many special features that help them survive in the Australian wild. Kangaroos have been important to the people of Australia. The animals impressed the British crew on the HMB Endeavour when they arrived in Australia in 1770. They ended up sending one back to England because they believed no one would believe them.

Kangaroos have been important to the Indigenous peoples for thousands of years. They were part of stories, traditions, art, and everyday life. Each group has their own cultural connections and stories, but the meat and other parts of the animal were used as food with all the groups. They made clothing called Buka that was used to help stay warm. Many interesting myths and legends from hundreds of years ago are still told to children today.

Kangaroos have a very special way of raising their young because they are marsupials. Marsupials are mammals that give birth to very small babies that move to a pouch on the mom’s stomach.  A newborn kangaroo is called a joey, and is about the size of a jellybean when it is born and the mom cares for it in the pouch for about six months. This unusual way of raising babies helps give tiny kangaroos a better chance of surviving.

Most of us think of kangaroos as amazing jumpers. There are many different species of kangaroos, ranging from the enormous red kangaroo, the largest of all kangaroos, to tiny wallabies. The red kangaroo can stand close to six feet tall, while the smallest one called the rat-kangaroo only weighs only about a pound. The most unusual one is the tree-kangaroo. It doesn’t do much bouncing around because it spends most of its time climbing and living in trees.

Did you know that in the past, kangaroos were made to box or fight with people for entertainment? The animals were trained or forced to perform. Kangaroos may look like really muscled MMA fighters, but what they need to use their fighting skills for is to defend themselves, protect their young, or settle disagreements with other kangaroos. Their powerful kicks and quick movements are important survival skills, not tricks for entertainment. The sport became unpopular almost as fast as it became popular. As humans, we should protect animals and not use them in a way that is cruel or can harm them.