MAMMALIA — KANGUROO. 



219 



THE KANGUROO. i 



There exists several species of the kanguroo, all of which are natives 

 of New Holland. The principal of these, is the great kanguroo, which was 

 first discovered in 1770, by some of the persons who accompanied Captain 

 Cook. It often measures nine feet in length, from the tip of the nose to the 

 end of the tail ; and, when full grown, weighs two hundred pounds. The 

 head and neck are very small, while the lower parts gradually dilate to a 

 very great size ; the fore legs are hardly nineteen inches long, while the hind- 

 er ones, which are perfectly bare, and callous beneath, measure three feet 

 seven inches. The head bears some resemblance to that of the deer, having 

 a mild and placid visage ; the ears are moderately large and erect, the eyes 

 full, and the mouth rather small. The general color is a pale brown, inclin- 

 ing to white underneath. From the great difference in length of the fore and 

 hind legs, the pace of this animal consists in vast springs, or bounds, which 

 are said at times to exceed twenty feet in length. It can with ease leap 

 over an obstacle above nine feet high. In its state of rest, it sits erect on 

 the whole length of the hind feet, supporting itself by the base of the tail ; 

 which is occasionally used as a weapon of defence, and is of such prodigious 

 strength as to be able to break the leg of a man at a single blow. The 

 female seldom produces more than one young one at a birth, which, when 

 first brought forth, is not above an inch long, and is received into an 



1 Kangurus labiatus, Geoff. The genus Kan gurus has six upper and two lower in- 

 cisors ; no canines; ten upper and ten lower molars. Ears large, pointed; eyes large; 

 fore less very short, with five toes, and strong nails ; hind legs long, robust, with four 

 toes ; the two internal, united and small ; the central large, with a strong claw, likfe a 

 hoof, plantigrade ; tail very strong, with powerful muscles, not prehensile, but serving 

 for locomotion ; an abdominal pouch. 



