The red kangaroo
The red kangaroo, Macropus Rufus, is the largest marsupial mammal. The red kangaroo gets its name from its colouring, the male being the red but the female appears of a grey-browner colour. This iconic animal has two large hind legs that allow it to reach speeds up to 60 km/h, using its tail to steer its way. The red kangaroo is able to live in areas of high temperatures and little food source, living in the harsh habitat of inland Australia.
habitat
The red kangaroos have been found to live in the western, to central parts of Australia in the desserts or grasslands. The days are warm and the nights cool, and with little tree coverage the temperate can vary from -2 degrees Celsius to over 45 degrees. With the variable temperature, food sources become scarce. The red kangaroo often eats grasses or forbs, even when the stalks of grasses are brown coloured and assumed dry or dead, the red kangaroo can get enough nutrition to keep it strong and healthy. Studies have shown that 75-95% of the diet of red kangaroos consists of green grasses and 54% of that is Neverfail grass. The terrain of the central and western part of Australia is arid desert, with a few rocks and small clumping of trees and shrubbery. The terrain is the reason that not many mammals live in the central-western Australia, but thanks to the unique build of the red kangaroo, they are able to withstand the climate.
adaptation
The red kangaroo, living in a harsh environment has had to make many changes and adaptations, in order to survive. The parts of the counrtry where the red kangaroo frequently suffers from droughts, so the red kangaroo has made some adjustments to how they work in order to survive:
1. The female kangaroo can essentially freeze the growth or development of her baby. This helps in times of drought when the food is scarce.
2. The red kangaroos are able to move their ears in a 360-degree motion. Therefore if there was a predator, the kangaroo would be able to hear them and in what direction they are.
3. Red kangaroos are energy efficient and don’t use up much energy bounding around, meaning they can travel longer distances without needing to stop.
4. A mother kangaroo can produce two types of milk, one for older joeys and one for a new born. This is efficient because it speeds up the reproduction cycle.
5. A kangaroo’s hop uses less energy that running. They have large muscles in their tendons that act as springs.
6. Kangaroos take advantage of the cool afternoon and early morning times to move, this insures that they are not stuck in the heat of the day.
1. The female kangaroo can essentially freeze the growth or development of her baby. This helps in times of drought when the food is scarce.
2. The red kangaroos are able to move their ears in a 360-degree motion. Therefore if there was a predator, the kangaroo would be able to hear them and in what direction they are.
3. Red kangaroos are energy efficient and don’t use up much energy bounding around, meaning they can travel longer distances without needing to stop.
4. A mother kangaroo can produce two types of milk, one for older joeys and one for a new born. This is efficient because it speeds up the reproduction cycle.
5. A kangaroo’s hop uses less energy that running. They have large muscles in their tendons that act as springs.
6. Kangaroos take advantage of the cool afternoon and early morning times to move, this insures that they are not stuck in the heat of the day.
Predators
The red kangaroo is one of the biggest marsupials. The species only really have two predators, one being humans and the other being a dingo. There are many sheep farms in central Australia and with the little amount of grazing land, the farmers often result in shooting the kangaroos in order to keep their flock alive and fed. With the dingoes they don’t go for a full sized kangaroo but do get younger and weaker joeys.