The Kangaroo is the World's Largest Hopping Animal | Nat Geo Wild

The kangaroo, one of Australia's most recognizable marsupials. There are a handful of species found all over the country, from the Antilopean kangaroo in the far northern reaches to the aptly named eastern grey. The only large animal to hop as a primary means of travel, many can cover 25 feet, almost 8 meters in a single bound, while reaching sprinting speeds as high as 35 miles or 56 kilometers per hour. Their genus name of Macropus literally means big foot. With some standing over 6 feet or 2 meters tall, they have the height to match. Kangaroos are social animals that forage together in a group called a troop, herd, or mob. As herbivores, they eat a variety of plants and grasses. Kangaroos graze similar to cows and goats with the same cud chewing abilities. Recently swallowed food can be regurgitated and chewed again before final digestion. As they forage along, their tail acts as a kind of fifth leg, helping to push off from the ground. One of their most apparent features, however, is the female pouch. Here, the offspring, called joeys, spend their time until mature enough to emerge, anywhere from 4 to 13 months, depending on the species. Before hitting the pouch, the tiny, barely inch-long newborn needs to find its way there. Blind and with the use of its four limbs only, it instinctively crawls through its mother's thick fur. Once inside the pouch, the newborn begins to nurse. When it eventually leaves the pouch, it can continue to suckle from its mother for up to a year or more. Amazingly, female kangaroos can be perpetually pregnant. A joey can be developing inside the pouch while an embryo is held in a sort of suspended animation, known as a diapause, waiting for its sibling to leave. To accommodate, females produce two distinct types of milk, one higher in fat for newborns and another for more mature joeys. In poor environmental conditions, such as dry spells or limited food, kangaroos will often stop breeding altogether. They'll resume having offspring once resources become stable. Kangaroo mothers tend to give birth to females first, relegating males to later in life. No one knows exactly how or why they do this, though the core bond of a mob revolves around clusters of females. Males usually wander off around adolescence, so the sisterhood looks after itself. Whether jacks or jills, these mascots of Australia are both abundant and impressive.