164 



OKDBES OF MAMMALS— POUCHED ANIMALS 



out, to take exercise, but jumps back again at 

 the first alarm. In an animal which travels as 

 far each day as the kangaroo, a pouch for the 

 conveyance of the young is a great convenience. 



THE KANGAROO FAMILY. 



Alacropodidae. 



In Australia, the land of queer things, nearly 

 all the land mammals are marsupials. The 

 Order includes the kangaroos, large and small, 





^•^w ' 



E. F. Keller, Photo. . National Zoological Park. 



brush-tailed rock wallaby (Petrogale penicillata) 

 Length, head and body, 2S inches ; tail, 24. 



wombat, Tasmanian wolf, Tasmanian devil, 

 koala, and many others. All kangaroos come 

 either from Australia, Tasmania, or New 

 Guinea, but one group of small wallabies extends 

 its range to New Britain and the Aru Islands. 

 The great majority of these creatures dwell on 

 the ground in the open plains, or in the "bush" 



of Australia. In northern Queensland and New 

 Guinea are four species of Tree Kangaroos, 

 which actually climb trees, and inhabit them. 



The largest species is the great Gray Kan- 

 garoo, 1 also called "Old man" and "Boomer," 

 which stands over 4 feet high, weighs nearly 

 200 pounds, and when frightened can leap twenty 

 feet or more. The smallest species are the Rat 

 Kangaroos, some of which are but 14 inches high. 

 Despite their nocturnal habits specimens are fre- 

 quently seen in captivity. One of the handsom- 

 est of all the species is the Red 

 Kangaroo, 2 a creature about 4 

 feet high, frequently seen in cap- 

 tivity, and quickly recognized 

 by its brick-red color, and fine, 

 silky hair. Several small species 

 of Kangaroos are called Wal'- 

 labies, and the species figured 

 herewith is a good representative 

 of this whole Family. 



The Kangaroo is a strange 

 variation in form from the ordi- 

 nary terrestrial mammal. Its 

 extremely long, strong hind legs, 

 and massive tail, also of great 

 length, form a wonderful jump- 

 ing machine. The tail not only 

 assists the animal in leaping, 

 but it also serves as a balancing 

 pole, and keeps its owner from 

 losing his proper position when 

 in mid-air. It is reasonably 

 certain that a Kangaroo without 

 a tail would frequently overbal- 

 ance when leaping, and turn 

 somersaults. Kangaroos were 

 once very abundant in Austra- 

 lia, but the general settlement 

 of that country, and the syste- 

 matic killing of the animals for 

 their skins, which are used as 

 leather for shoes, has so greatly 

 reduced the number that now 

 far inland in order to find them 





nJ 



one must go 

 wild. 



Most pouched mammals are strictly herbivor- 

 ous, but some, like the opossum and Tasmanian 

 wolf, are true flesh-eaters. 



' Mac-ro'pus gi-gan'te-us. 

 2 Macro-pus ru'fus. 



