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The Kangaroo
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Sep 2, 2025
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Hi, Malcolm Walker here and welcome to
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Wild but True. There are over 200
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different kinds of animals that we call
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marsupials. They're found in both North
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and South America, Europe, Asia, and
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Africa. But by far the most well-known
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marsupial is the kangaroo. Let's find
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out why. Kangaroos are only found in one
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country, Australia. There are five
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different species of kangaroo, and they
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come in a whole range of sizes. The
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smallest species, the musky rat
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kangaroo, is about the size of a
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domestic cat and weighs around 2 kg. The
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largest species, the red kangaroo, can
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be nearly 2 m tall and weigh over 90 kg.
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But what makes kangaroos so fascinating?
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Well, their powerful hind legs enable
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them to hop around at incredible speeds,
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up to 40 kmh, which is around 25 mph.
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and their strong thick tail acts as a
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fourth leg, helping them to keep their
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balance while they're hopping. Their big
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feet are also perfectly adapted for
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hopping. The heel of each foot has a
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thick pad that acts like a shock
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absorber, protecting their delicate
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bones and joints from the impact of each
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jump. They have longer upper body
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muscles than other animals, which helps
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them to conserve energy when they're
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hopping. And instead of shoulders, they
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have a special joint that allows their
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arms to swing forward and backward in a
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limited way. This is great for balance
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while hopping, but means they can't do
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things like climb trees or reach things
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that are close up. See, there's no such
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thing as a free lunch. Nature is full of
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trade-offs. Most people don't know this,
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but females have to utter and can have
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two babies at once. How cool is that?
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The female kangaroo gives birth to a
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male, he will be known as a joey. And if
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she gives birth to a female, she will be
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known as a female just like her mother.
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Female kangaroos have to find a new home
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away from their mother's group. Usually,
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they'll live with a group of other
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females in their young. Males, on the
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other hand, will stay with their
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mother's group until they're around 2
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years old. Kangaroos are herbivores, and
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they spend most of their time looking
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for food. They prefer to eat green,
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leafy vegetation, grasses, and herbs,
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but will also happily munch on fruits
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and flowers. They get most of the water
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they need from the plants they eat, but
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will also drink water from rivers,
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lakes, and dams. Since they live in hot
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climates, kangaroos are mostly active
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during the cooler parts of the day, like
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dawn and dusk. They ll take shelter in
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the shade or even dig burrows to keep
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cool during the hottest parts of the
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day. Because they're so big, kangaroos
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have very few predators, and those that
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do hunt kangaroos tend to go after the
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smaller species. Dingoes and wild dogs
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sometimes hunt kangaroos, but they
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usually go after sick or injured
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animals. Eagles and other large birds of
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prey will hunt baby kangaroos, and
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smaller kangaroos will sometimes be
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hunted by snakes.
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Humans are probably the biggest threat
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to kangaroos today. Not because they
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hunt them for food, but because they
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destroy their habitat. As more and more
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of Australia's wild spaces are turned
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into farmland, kangaroos have less and
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less space to live. And because they're
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big and slow, they aren't very good at
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adapting to human dominated areas. So
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sadly, some species of kangaroo are
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endangered. So there you go. You know
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all about kangaroos. You enjoyed this
3:23
video, please give it a thumbs up and
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share it with your friends. And if you
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haven't already, please subscribe and
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hit the bell icon to receive every
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notification. Thanks for watching. See
3:34
you next time.
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