| Kangaroos are famous for two things. They are the only large animals to move by hopping and they have a marsupial sack. They are like mammals in their reproductive habits, but their egg has a thin shell, like a reptile. When the egg hatches, the newborn has to crawl out of the uterus, up its mother's stomach, and into the pouch. In the pouch there is a nice reward in the form of milk for the newborn. The baby continues to nurse within the pouch for about 190 days or 6 months. It will then leave the pouch to visit the outside world but hop back in to feed and rest. Depending on the species, a joey, a baby kangaroo, will leave the mother's pouch for good at 265 to 365 days. |
