THE RED KANGAROO 



illustration, the body is supported on a tripod formed by the massive tail and the 

 hind-legs ; the whole of the lower portion of the latter, corresponding structurally 

 to the human foot, being then applied to the ground. When, however, the animal 

 is leaping, as shown in the background of the picture, the hind part of the foot is 

 raised and the body supported by the toes ; the tail thumping on the ground at 

 each leap. 



Kangaroos subsist chiefly on grass and leaves, but also eat buds, bark, roots, 

 and fruits. Originally they were to be found all over the habitable parts of 

 Australia and Tasmania, from the coasts inwards, and while most kinds inhabited 

 the plains, others were to be found in the mountains. Nowadays, however, they 

 have for the most part been driven back into the uncultivated lands of the interior, 

 and their numbers have been greatly reduced. All the larger species associate in 

 large bands. True kangaroos of the genus Macroftus are also found in New 

 Guinea, while a few of the smaller kinds are natives of the eastern Austro-Malay 

 Islands. 



The great red kangaroo, the subject of the illustration, is the largest member 

 of the whole group, and takes its name from the dark rusty red colour of the soft 

 woolly hair of the adult males, that of the females being a delicate bluish grey. Its 

 home is in the rocky districts of South and East Australia. 



As this species is kept in most Zoological Gardens, opportunities have been 

 afforded of observing the newly born young. These come into the world after a 

 gestation of- only thirty-nine days, when they are only about an inch and a quarter 

 in length, and little more than shapeless lumps of animation. The newborn young 

 is immediately transferred by the mother, by means of her lips, to the pouch, where 

 it is attached by its sucking mouth to a nipple. Here it remains for eight months, 

 after which it returns to the shelter of the pouch, when so disposed, for a considerable 

 time longer : a fresh offspring being often in the pouch at the same time. 



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