CHAPTER XIII
baby kangaroos
FROM Australia, the Land of Topsy-Turvy, comes that most interesting animal, the Kangaroo. This beautiful and wonderful creature has a pocket in her furry coat.
We haven't a dressmaker in the whole human race who could improve on Mrs. Kangaroo's pocket. It's a work of art and very practical. It is furnished with a strong elastic muscle which acts as a neat draw string. It puckers it so tightly that the smallest object couldn't possibly fall out. It can be opened widely or puckered to suit the taste.
And in this wonderful pocket is where baby Kangaroo lives until he is big enough to fend for himself. The baby Kangaroo appears during the winter. Mother Kangy drops him in the warm nest when he is so tiny he is scarcely an inch long, and no thicker than a lead pencil. He is hairless and blind and has no features to speak of—in fact he is no larger than a baby mouse.
This baby is so tiny and helpless it is unable to move for weeks, not even to take nourishment without its mother's assistance. After a time it acquires a furry coat, grows strong enough to move about, gets plump and—and presto! One day out pops a little head from the magic pocket and baby Kangaroo takes his first peep at the beautiful green world.
I wonder what he thinks of it all after the snug life he has been leading in the quiet of his little pocket home? After a time he gets accustomed to the ways of the world and puts his little paws outside too.
While his mother eats the sweet green grass, he takes a little nibble now and then, and after some experience he gets to be quite a vegetarian.
One day he gets his courage screwed up to the proper pitch and hops out of the pocket and walks on the grass. It tickles his feet but he likes it. The fresh earth is cooling and fragrant. Then he takes tiny hops in imitation of his mother's way of travelling. It is lots of fun to bounce over the 
After the National Geographic Magazine
The Kangaroo is the pugilist of the animal kingdom. He would rather box than eat.
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| "Old Boomer," or the great grey Kangaroo, sits up on his hind legs and balances on his strong tail. His front paws are ready for action and he is longing for a boxing bout. | Mother Kangaroo puts her child in her pouch and takes it for a joy ride. Here is the original perambulator and this perfect model for a baby carriage has never been equalled by the human race. |
ground like a rubber ball sustained by a pair of strong hind legs.
He uses his forepaws dexterously like hands and in time will be able to box like a master of that sport.
The Kangaroo is naturally an adept at the art of boxing, as a sea lion is at juggling. Both animals are clever at these sports even in the wild state.
Have you never seen a boxing Kangaroo in a show? He does his act as scientifically as any performer, and it takes a clever man to put the gloves on and hold his own with a Kangaroo.
At the first sign of danger, the little chap's mother stoops down, opens the pouch, chucks the baby in headfirst and leaps away to safety.
In the security of his snug surroundings, he wriggles around into an upright position and pokes out a cunning little head, set with two brilliant, mischievous eyes. He is entitled to ride in the pocket until another baby comes, or until he gets so big he is too heavy to carry, and then he loses out. There is nothing left then but to hop at his mother's side. He leaves the pouch for good when about ten months old. They are timid animals and go at great speed when alarmed. A full-grown Kangaroo has been known to cover a distance of twenty-five feet at one stride. The usual length is ten feet.
These animals are threatened with extinction. They have been so mercilessly hunted. The Kangaroo is peculiar to Australia and there are many species—the great grey, or "Boomer," is the largest, and is found more or less all over the country. It stands between four and five feet and weighs close to two hundred pounds. The red Kangaroo is the handsomest of the Kangaroo family. It is about four feet high and covered with brick red, fine, silky hair.
There are several small species called Wallabies, and the smallest species is known as the Rat Kangaroo. They average about fourteen inches in length.
The kangaroos are the most highly developed of their race (marsupial or pouched animals). They inhabit Australia, New Guinea and Tasmania. The majority of them live on the grassy plains and a few dwell in trees.
They are harmless and inoffensive, but are prepared to defend themselves with a powerful hind claw which is used for ripping its adversary.
In habits they resemble sheep or fallow deer. They are timid and shy, and their hearing and sight are very acute. They are clean and have camping grounds and well trodden runs.
They travel in droves and are quite sociable among themselves.
Their food consists of small shrubs, heather grass and small plants. They are strictly herbivorous.
The tail of a "Boomer" or "Old Man," as it is sometimes called by the natives, is from thirty to thirty-six inches long and very powerful. It is used as a balancer, and helps wonderfully in the long leaps these animals travel with. They are nocturnal in habit and sleep during the day. But even this doesn't protect them from hunters who shoot them for food and for their skins. The flesh is called venison and is considered good.
The Kangaroo is kind and gentle when tamed, and very interesting.