582 



THE POUCHED ANIMALS. 



Kangaroos The Kangaroos are the most impor- 

 Important Game tant objects of the chase in their na- 

 Animals. tive country and are hunted very ex- 

 tensively by beasts of prey as well as by Men, natives 

 or whites. The white Men, however, cause much 

 greater havoc in the ranks of the Kangaroos than do 

 the natives. Numerous methods are employed to 

 exterminate the animals; they are shot with fire-arms, 

 or coursed to death by Hounds: and that for very 

 wantonness, for the slain bodies are left to rot in 

 the woods. "That is the reason," says an anony- 

 mous writer, "why the Kangaroos are already exter- 

 minated in the environs of all larger cities and set- 

 tlements; and if this savage chase is permitted to 

 continue, it will not be long ere they will be num- 

 bered among the rarer mammals in the interior 

 also." 



Kangaroos Easily All species of Kangaroo readily re- 

 Tamed and Ac- sign themselves to confinement, and 

 climated. are easily maintained on hay, green 



fodder, turnips, grain, bread and similar articles of 

 food; they do not require a specially warm shelter 

 in winter and breed readily if given proper care. 



THE GIANT KANGAROO. 



The Giant Kangaroo {Macropus giganteus), known 

 by the appellation of "Boomer" among the Aus- 

 tralian settlers, belongs to the largest species of the 

 family. Very old males have, when in a sitting posi- 

 tion, nearly the height of a human being. Their total 

 length amounts to about ten feet, about three feet of 

 this being included in the tail; the weight ranges 

 between two and three hundred pounds. The female 

 is, on an average, one third smaller than the male. 

 The fur is copious, thick, smooth and soft, nearly 

 woolly in texture. The coloring is a brown that can 

 hardly be described, mixed with gray. The fore- 

 legs, and the hind shins and ankles are white or 

 grayish white, the toes are blackish; the head shows 

 the color of the back with dark stripes on the sides; 

 the tail is brownish, gradually darkening towards 

 the extremity, being entirely black at the tip. 



Traits of the Cook discovered this species of Kan- 

 Giant Kan- garoo in 1 770 on the coast of New 

 garoo. South Wales and described it under 



the name in use among the natives. The animal 

 lives in grassy pastures or in the sparsely grown 

 scrubby woods, such as are often found in Australia. 

 It retreats to the bush especially in summer, seeking 

 shelter from the hot noonday sun. At present it 

 has been driven far into the interior of the country 

 by incessant pursuit, and even there it is becoming 

 rare. It lives in groups, but is not as gregarious 

 as we were formerly led to believe by reports that 

 many different families unite. Usually only three 

 or four are seen together, and they regard the social 

 bond so loosely, that one cares very little for the 

 other, but goes its own way independently. A par- 

 ticularly good pasturage may cause a larger number 

 of the animals to congregate, but they separate 

 again when they have exhausted the resources of 

 the locality. Formerly it was believed that males 

 were leaders of the bands, probably because their 

 large size seemed to render them fit for this office; 

 but this supposition has been proven to be incorrect. 

 All observers agree that the Giant Kangaroo is ex- 

 ceedingly shy and timorous and seldom allows a 

 person to approach it. At present it is more rarely 

 seen in confinement in Europe and America than 

 when it was more numerous and easier to capture in 

 its native country. With good treatment it survives 



a long time; specimens have lived in Europe from 

 ten to twenty-five years. 



MOUNTAIN KANGAROOS. 



The Mountain Kangaroos {Petrogale) are animals 

 fitted for a life in mountainous regions; to them 

 belong the Yellow-legged Kangaroo {Petrogale xa?i- 

 tliopits) and the South Australian Rock Kangaroo 

 {Petrogale perdcillata). The latter attains a length of 

 fifty inches, inclusive of the tail, which is as long as 

 the body and has a tuft of hair at its end. The pre- 

 vailing color is purple-gray, merging into a whitish 

 brown hue on the sides, black behind, brown or yel- 

 lowish beneath. 

 Home and Habits The mountains of South Australia 

 of the Rock harbor the Rock Kangaroo in con- 

 Kangaroo. siderable numbers; yet it is not often 

 seen, as it is a lover of the night and very rarely 

 comes out of the dark caves and gulches between 

 the rocks before sunset. The agility which it dis- 

 plays in climbing along the rocky precipices would 

 do credit to a Monkey. By its climbing accomplish- 

 ments it is protected much more effectually than its 

 relatives from pursuit by Man and other foes. In 

 modern times Rock Kangaroos have been repeatedly 

 brought alive to Europe and they may be frequently 

 seen in zoological gardens. They do not differ from 

 their relatives in their habits or behavior, except in 

 their climbing propensities. 



THE TREE KANGAROOS. 



The climbing powers of the Macropodina^ are 

 brought to the highest point of development in the 

 four species constituting the Tree Kangaroos ( Den- 

 drolagus), of New Guinea and north Queensland. 

 The large, strong fore legs are but little inferior to 

 the hinder limbs and are a very characteristic feature 

 of this genus. The Bear Kangaroo {Dcndrolagus 

 iirsi/iits) of New Guinea is a medium large animal, 

 fiftv inches in length, a little more than half of which 

 is included in the tail. 



All observers agree that one can hardly imagine 

 a more remarkable creature than a Tree Kangaroo, 

 merrily moving about among the branches and dis- 

 playing nearly all climbing abilities that have been 

 observed in mammals. The animal climbs up tree 

 trunks with the greatest ease, going up and down with 

 the security of a Squirrel; yet it looks so strange 

 in the tree tops that every spectator is much amazed 

 when, for the first time, he sees the dark-haired, 

 long-limbed creature, hopping from the ground to 

 the tree and moving about the waving branches. In 

 accordance with the nature of its haunts, it feeds 

 principally on leaves, buds and shoots of trees; 

 probably it also eats fruit. One seldom sees it in 

 captivity. 



THE KANGAROO RATS. 



The small leaping forms are called Kangaroo Rats 

 {Potoroina:). They generally resemble their large 

 relatives greatly, but differ from them not only by 

 reason of their small size, but also in the long nails 

 on the middle toes of the fore limbs and especially in 

 their dentition. This sub-family is restricted to the 

 continent of Australia and Tasmania. 



THE OPOSSUM RAT. 



One of the largest species of the Kangaroo Rats 

 is the Opossum Rat {Bettongia penkUlata), an animal 

 of the size of a Rabbit, with very short, round ears 

 and rather long hair. The color of the upper sur- 



