Kangaroo is a common name for certain marsupial animals found in Australia and neighboring islands. Typical large kangaroos have sheeplike heads; large, movable ears; slender chests; and heavy hind parts. They have short front legs with five unequal digits, and long, powerful hind legs with tendons that act like springs for energy-efficient hopping.
A large kangaroo can cover a distance of 9 m (30 ft) in a single leap. The hind feet typically have four toes; one digit bears a long, sharp claw used in defense. A large kangaroo, although ordinarily timid, is dangerous when at bay, pummeling its attacker with its forepaws and slashing with its powerful hind legs. The long, muscular tail is used as a support when the animal sits or walks, and for balance when it leaps. The tough hide is often covered with soft, woolly fur. Kangaroo hunting, for the animals' hide and flesh, has been a popular sport in Australia, with hundreds of thousands of the animals killed each year.

Female kangaroos, like the females of other marsupials, have special abdominal pouches. The newly born young, commonly called a joey, finds its way into the pouch unassisted by the mother. The pouch, in which the joey is kept until it is 5 to 9 months old (depending on species), contains four mammary glands, of which two at a time are functional. The joey emerges permanently at from 6 to 10 months, and then stays with its mother, continuing to suckle by placing its head in her pouch, usually until it is 12 to 18 months old.

"Kangaroo," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 96 Encyclopedia. (c) 1993-1995 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. (c) Funk & Wagnalls Corporation. All rights reserved.

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