What Does A Kangaroo Look Like?

Kangaroos are large Australian marsupials known for hopping on powerful hind legs. They have deer-like faces, long snouts and swivelling ears and an incredible 324° field of view. Kangaroos have exceptional hearing and can detect sounds from 2 kilometres away.

Male kangaroos are larger than females. Female kangaroos have a pouch in which they carry their young. Interestingly, kangaroos cannot hop slowly, so they walk using all four limbs and their tail.

A male kangaroo is called a boomer. A female kangaroo is called a flyer. A baby kangaroo is called a joey.

• Learn About How the Kangaroo Got Its Name Here →

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How Do Kangaroos Hop?

Kangaroos use their long, springy hind legs to hop efficiently. Their tendons store and release energy, allowing them to leap up to three times their height and reach impressive speeds. They can even make sharp 180-degree turns mid-hop! However, they can’t hop backward due to muscle and tail structure.

• Learn About How a Kangaroo Hops Here →

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The Kangaroo's Tail: A Third Leg

A kangaroo’s thick, muscular tail provides essential balance while hopping and serves as a fifth leg when walking slowly (pentapedaling). It also acts as a tripod to prevent it from toppling over when standing. The kangaroo also stores fat reserves and helps the kangaroo kick during fights.

Besides using their front limbs and rear legs, they also use their tails as a leg. This unique way of walking is called pentapedaling.

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Kangaroo's Forelimbs and Cooling Method

Kangaroos have small, strong forelimbs with five clawed fingers. They are mostly left-handed, using their left hand for grooming and feeding.

To cool down, kangaroos lick their forearms, coating them in saliva. As the saliva evaporates, it helps lower their body temperature—a built-in air-conditioning system! (Fun fact: Elephants are also known to be left- or right-handed!)

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Kangaroo's Pouch

Female kangaroos have a built-in nursery—a pouch on the front of their bodies where they carry and nurture their young. Baby kangaroos, called joeys, are born extremely underdeveloped and must crawl into the pouch immediately after birth to survive. Inside, they attach to a milk nipple and continue developing for over four months before venturing outside. Male kangaroos do not have pouches.

• Difference Between Kangaroos and Other Mammals

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Kangaroo Communication

Kangaroos use a variety of sounds and physical gestures to communicate:
• Mothers click softly to bond with their babies.
• Alarmed kangaroos hiss and growl.
• Aggressive kangaroos emit a sharp "ha" sound.
• Males chuckle during courtship.
• All kangaroos thump their feet to warn others of danger.

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Kangaroo Habitat

Kangaroos live in various climates across Australia – from deserts to tropical forests. Different species inhabit different regions. The red kangaroo lives mainly in Australia's arid and semi-arid interior. The eastern grey kangaroo inhabits the moist scrublands of the east, south, and south-west regions. The western grey kangaroo is found in grasslands and open woodlands in southern Australia. The antilopine kangaroo prefers tropical forests with grassy ground cover in the northern regions.

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What Do Kangaroos Eat?

Kangaroos are plant-eating herbivores that primarily graze on grasses, leaves, flowers, and fruits. Kangaroos prefer feeding at night but also graze early in the morning and late evening when the temperature is cooler. Their specialized stomachs and unique digestion—similar to cows—let them break down tough plant fibres by chewing cud. They rarely need to drink water, as they absorb most of the moisture they need from their food.

With sharp front teeth for cutting and powerful molars for grinding, kangaroos wear down multiple sets of teeth in a lifetime. If the animal hasn't died of old age by then, it will die of starvation because it has no teeth left.

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How Are Baby Kangaroos Born?

Kangaroos give birth to tiny, underdeveloped joeys—about the size of a jelly bean. Right after birth, the newborn crawls into its mother's pouch, where it latches onto a nipple and stays safely tucked away for around six months.

As it grows, the joey begins peeking out, then hopping short distances while staying close to its mother. By eight months, it leaves the pouch for good but may stick around for up to two years.

Female kangaroos can breed year-round, especially when food is plentiful. They reach maturity at 16 months (females) and 24 months (males), with a lifespan of 22–25 years.

• Learn About Kangaroos Interesting Reproductive System Here →

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Do Kangaroos Throw Their Babies Away?

No, kangaroos do not throw their babies. It is physically impossible for them to do so with their short arms and hands. However, in extreme danger, a mother may eject her joey from its pouch to distract a predator and allowing her to escape. While it may seem cruel, this desperate move is a natural survival instinct. By sacrificing her baby, the mother saves herself, rather than both mother and baby falling prey to the predator. She can then go on to produce more babies.

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Do Kangaroos Fight or Box?

Contrary to popular belief, kangaroos do not punch or box like humans do. Instead, they fight by kicking their opponent with their powerful hind legs and hitting and clawing with their front paws, which have sharp claws. Very rarely do kangaroos hurt each other during these fights.

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Can Kangaroos Swim?

Yes, kangaroos are surprisingly good swimmers and use all four limbs to paddle. They may flee into water for safety and have been seen swimming in oceans, rivers and watering holes.

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Kangaroo Drowning Dog

Kangaroos are generally not aggressive, but when chased, especially by dogs or dingos, they can defend themselves in surprising ways. If near a body of water, a kangaroo may flee into the water, using it as a defensive barrier. Should the dog follow, the kangaroo may turn and stand its ground, grabs its assailant with its powerful arms and hold it underwater in and attempt to drown it. This defensive behaviour is rare, but has been observed when kangaroos feel cornered and have no other means of escape. There have been no reports of kangaroos drowning humans—because, frankly, few people would be reckless enough to chase a kangaroo into deep water.

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Kangaroo Predators and Threats What Kills Kangaroos?

Kangaroos are generally safe from predators due to their size, speed and powerful kicks. However, young kangaroos fall prey to eagles, dingoes, foxes and certain dog breeds. Kangaroos rarely succumb to illnesses in their natural habitats. Droughts, motor vehicle accidents, hunting and intentional culling by the government have caused the highest mortality rates for this species.

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Are Kangaroos Endangered?

There are 50-60 million,kangaroos in Australian and they are not considered endangered. However, up to 2 million are culled yearly to manage their impact on agriculture. The IUCN classifies them as “Least Concern.”

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Extinct Giant Kangaroos

The procoptodon was a giant short-faced kangaroo that stood about 2m tall and weighed as much as 240kg. It was too heavy to hop and probably walked on its hind legs. It lived in semi-arid areas of South Australia and New South Wales and had a diet of leaves from trees and shrubs. The procoptodons became extinct between 45,000 and 18,000 years ago. Their extinction may have been caused by human hunting, or by human fire-based deforestation in Australia.

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