368 THE GREAT KANGAROO. 



size. Such is the Great Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), which 

 generally measures about seven and a half feet in length from the 

 nose to the tip of the tail, the tail being rather more than three feet 

 in length, and fully twelve inches in circumference at the base. In 

 its erect sitting posture, when it rests on its hind-legs and the root 

 of its tail as on a tripod, its height amounts to about fifty inches ; 

 but when it rises on its toes to look around, its stature exceeds that 

 of a man. The great length of its hind-legs is a notable peculiarity ; 

 their feet are provided with only four toes, the central being very 

 long, of great strength, and terminated in a large and powerful hoof- 

 like nail or claw. The fore-legs, on the contrary, are very short, and 

 the feet divided into five toes, each furnished with a short and some- 

 what hooked claw. The animal's head is small, with rather pointed 

 ears, and large but placid eyes ; it has a thin and gracefully pro- 

 portioned neck ; so that a startling discrepancy is observable between 

 the fore and the posterior parts of the animal, though the general 

 effect is neither ungraceful nor unpleasing. It should be noticed that 

 the kangaroo never folds his tail between his legs, which, I may add, 

 are extraordinarily strong. The thighs are thick, the tarsi long and 

 robust. He only walks on all fours when hotly pressed, and then 

 his appearance is decidedly ungainly. In escaping from an enemy 

 he rears himself upright, skims the plain with bounding leaps, and in 

 a few minutes leaves behind him the swiftest horse or dog. But if 

 all avenues of retreat be closed to him, he plants himself firmly 

 against a tree or a rock and fights with obstinate courage, ripping up 

 his assailants with his potent hind-feet, like a stag with his horns or 

 a wild boar with his tusks. 



The diet of the kangaroo is essentially "vegetarian;" he lives 

 upon leaves, herbs, and roots, and employs his fore-paws, like the 

 Rodents, to carry his food to his mouth. The animal's habits are 

 mild and inoffensive. They roamed very peacefully about the 

 Australian prairies before the new continent was opened up to Euro- 

 pean enterprise ; having no other enemies to fear than the natives, 

 who were scattered in small tribes over a few points of an immense 



