MAMMALIA—KANGUROO. 219 
THE KANGUROO.1 
; 

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 ata single blow. The 
female seldom produces more than one young one ata birth, which, when 
first brought forth, is not above an inch long, and is received into an 

1 Kangurus labiatus, Georr. The genus Kangurus has six upper and two lower in- 
cisors ; no canines; ten upper and ten lower molars. Ears large, pointed; eyes large ; 
fore legs 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, like a 
hoof, plantigrade ; tail very strong, with powerful muscles, not prehensile, but serving 
for locomotion; an abdominai pouch. 
