ANGAROOSBy: Nick B.

Introduction

There are four main species of kangaroos, the Red kangaroo, the Eastern Grey kangaroo, the Western Grey kangaroo, and lastly the Antilopine kangaroo. These four species of kangaroos are only found in Australia. Female kangaroos are born with pouches, these pouches are very important because they hold the female’s Joey kangaroo once they are born.

Pouch with a Joey in it

Habitat

Kangaroos are found all over Australia, they are commonly found in bush land, woodland, open forests, grassland, and scrub land. The Eastern Grey kangaroo is commonly seen in the fertile eastern part of Australia. Most of Australia’ grassy plains and woodland are the Antilopine kangaroos habitat. Larger kangaroos do not live in the deserts of Australia because there isn’t enough food for them to feed on.

Behaviour

Kangaroos are the only big animal that uses hopping as a form of transportation. The normal hopping speed of a kangaroo is twenty-twenty five kilometres an hour. When a kangaroo is going at a extremely fast speed they can reach speeds up to sixty kilometres an hour. Kangaroos are so fast because of the long distances they have to go to get food and water. Kangaroos average life span is four to six years long, they live in a pack called a mob.

Predators

Almost all animals have predators, a kangaroo has only a few natural predators they include dingo's, wedge tailed eagles, and humans. A way that kangaroos avoid there predators is by staying in mobs, a good thing about staying in mobs is that kangaroos can easily spot there predators because there are so many kangaroos in the mob. Kangaroos have many extinct predators they include the marsupial lion, megalania, and wonambi. When a male kangaroo hears the howl of a dog they get sent into a wild frenzy. Kangaroos have almost the same amount of extinct predators as they do alive.

Food

Kangaroos do not eat meat, this means they are carnivores. The Eastern Grey kangaroo eats a big variety of wild grasses, while the red kangaroo eats a lot of shrubs in there diet. Kangaroos are smart animals in the way that they get up and feed in the morning and then rest during the boiling hot afternoon and evening. Kangaroo’s molars move forward and at the same time ground down, this eventually makes the molars to fall out. But kangaroos don’t have to worry because after they are replaced by new teeth in the back.

Did You Know?

That a kangaroo is the national symbol of Australia.

That the name kangaroo was made on August 4 1770.

That there are over sixty species of kangaroos in Australia.

That eye disease had spread across the dessert to western Australia in 1996.

Bold\Vocabulary Words Fertile: means a place with soil that produces

abundant vegetation or crops. Joey: A young or baby kangaroo is commonly

known as a Joey. Mob: A pack of kangaroos that live together is

called a mob. Predators: A predator is an organism that hunts

and eats another organism. Herbivores: A herbivore is a organism that eats

only plants, and no animals.

Conclusion

I found kangaroos a very interesting topic to study for a few different reasons. The first reason is that my family and I have been to Australia before. While I was there I saw many kangaroos, some that even had a baby Joey in there pouch. I found it so cool watching them travel by hoping instead of just walking. When my family and I were in Australia we went to a place called Broken Hill, one night my moms aunt took us to a golf course just so we could see kangaroos. On this golf course there must have been hundreds of kangaroos, including some Joeys. Over all my trips I found Australia the best trip I have ever been on.

Bibliography

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/kangaroo-habitat.html

Clip art http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangaroo http://rootae.tripod.com/

kangaroo_behaviorspage.htm http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/

kangaroos.html