Gioca STEMAnimals

Animals · Australia and Oceania

Red kangaroo

Osphranter rufus

The largest marsupial in the world

An adult male standing tall balances on his tail like a third leg while watching the open savanna.
An adult male standing tall balances on his tail like a third leg while watching the open savanna.
  • Status: Safe
  • Steppes, savannas, and deserts of mainland Australia

Numbers

Weight
154 lbmales 120-200 lb, females 40-90 lb
Length
57 inmale body 50-63 in, plus about 47 in tail; females 33-41 in
Height
5 ftstanding upright; largest males exceed six feet, record is seven feet
Lifespan
15 years10 to 16 years
Long jump
30 ftonly when fleeing; normal stride is 4-6 ft
High jump
11 fthuman record is 8 ft
Field of view
324 degreeswith about 25 degrees of overlap between eyes

Ten fun facts

  1. with a single bound a male covers thirty feet and leaps up to ten feet off the ground.

  2. at low speeds it burns more energy than a four-legged animal, but speeding up consumes less oxygen.

  3. its field of view reaches 324 degrees, with barely 25 degrees of overlap between both eyes.

  4. it keeps its body temperature cool in the desert by panting, sweating, and licking its front legs.

  5. the largest confirmed red kangaroo was seven feet tall and weighed over two hundred pounds.

  6. when attacked by dingoes it can wade into deep water and drown pursuers with its front paws.

  7. a newborn leaves the womb after 33 days, weighs under an ounce, and climbs into the pouch.

  8. the joey leaves the pouch for good after 240 days, when it weighs up to nine pounds.

  9. a mother can nurse two joeys of different ages at once while holding an embryo in reserve.

  10. a severe drought in 1982 caused the red kangaroo population to drop by 43 percent overall.

The quiz answers

The first one is the question printed in your book: here is the answer. The other four are extra.

Question 1 of 5★ this one is in your book

How far can a single bound of an adult male be?

Question 2 of 5

How does it save energy while hopping?

Question 3 of 5

How much does a newborn weigh?

Question 4 of 5

What is the tail used for when resting?

Question 5 of 5

What does it mainly feed on?

Try it yourself

Experiment 1

Mark thirty feet on the driveway with chalk. This is the incredible distance a red kangaroo can cover in a single leap while escaping danger.

Experiment 2

Hold a two pound bag of sugar, then imagine something that weighs a thousand times less. That tiny amount is the weight of a newborn red kangaroo.

Experiment 3

Use a tape measure to mark seven feet high on a wall. That was the height of the largest recorded red kangaroo, which weighed two hundred pounds.

Data from Wikidata (Q104831614) and Wikipedia (Red kangaroo).