THE KANGAROO 
spread of the cultivation and occupation of the land in 
Australia. 
Nevertheless they are harmless and timid, unless the 
large old males become wounded, or are caught or 
interfered with ; at such times they are found formidable 
antagonists, ripping and tearing, with the feet and claws, 
men or dogs. 
One is tempted to regard the kangaroo as exemplifying 
the early transition from the bird or reptile to the more 
perfectly-developed mammal. Its immature birth, slow 
growth, and deficiency in the development of the brain ; 
want of tenderness and care for its young ; dull perception 
and entire lack of intelligence ; its bird-like hop on its 
hind-legs, and its ungraceful crawl on all fours, — all place 
it little above the reptiles that creep and hop over the 
earth. 
Of this form how wonderful are the modifications 
adapted to different kinds of life ! We have a tree 
kangaroo {Dendrolagus inustus ) ; this animal is destined 
to live in the forest, to climb from tree to tree and jump 
from branch to branch, feeding upon the leaves, flowers, 
tender branches, and shoots, and moving awkwardly on 
the ground. Have we not also one form of kangaroo 
that lives in the ground ? Gray’s J erboa kangaroo 
{Bettongia grayi) digs a burrow like a rabbit and passes 
the greater part of its time there, coming out to feed only 
at night. 
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