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Week 8 [11.05 - 17.05] Red Kangaroo

In the aridest region of Australia lives one the most enduring species of our planet - big red kangaroo, the largest marsupial in the world. His abilities are formed by millions of years of evolution. Those creatures are amazing in their adaptation to such harsh conditions. While thousands of animals died because of dehydration and hunger, big red kangaroos are strong enough to survive in these terrible conditions. So let’s find out how they do that.


Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/34621490870442152/

First of all, you need to know about the area of living of big red kangaroos. Australia is the oldest continent on the Earth and ¾ of its territory is desert. In the center of the mainland, only 13 cm of precipitation falls per year. The temperature here can rise up to 43 degrees Celsius. In Australia, there are no typical season changes, only the vagaries of nature.


Source: https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-largest-deserts-in-australia.html


Males of large red kangaroos predominate over females in weight and height. Males have a height up to 3m at a weight of up to 135 kg, females have 1.1m at a weight of 35 kg. However, usually, red kangaroo males reach 1.5-2m in height at a weight of 85 kg.

Female kangaroos are almost always pregnant, but they have adapted their reproductive system to unpredictable conditions of the environment. At the same time, female kangaroo could have up to 3 children being on the different stages of development. After 30 days in mothers belly, a kangaroo is born blind in size of a peanut and goes to mother’s bag. After that, his mother becomes pregnant again. After fertilization, the mother's endocrine system stops the development of the embryo. This is the second child. His development will not resume until the first child reduces the consumerism of milk. The third child is still drinking milk, but no longer sits in his mother's bag. Moreover, when a child reaches the age of 3 months, his mother’s organism changes the composition of milk to produce more protein. What is more, a female kangaroo can produce the milk of different compositions at the same time to provide the offspring with the necessary substances depending on the age of each cub. Of course, sometimes kangaroo has to sacrifice to a child so that others can survive. This could happen because of the lack of green grass or water needed to produce milk or predators, but red kangaroos still remail one of the most wonderful creatures on our planet.


Questions:
1. Did you know how hardy large red kangaroos are? What surprised you the most?
2. Could you tell us something more about those incredible animals that wasn’t mentioned?
3. What could we do to save the wild nature?

Comments

I used to play a lot about the Zoo Tycoon 2 animal game. There was a lot of information about animals of all kinds, so I know quite a lot about animals. For me it's nothing that red kangaroos are strong. In general, kangaroos are very interesting creatures because they have a bag for offspring and are often aggressive towards each other. But don't worry, it's their way to have fun and solve problems. As far as I remember, there are 3-4 species of kangaroo that are globalized, while naturally kangaroos are found only in Australia. As for me, it is possible to save wild nature, but we must stop, for example, the cultivation of coffee, cereals and stop producing equipment that immediately breaks down. It must be said that the state of our planet is also our state. And our condition is our fault.
Karol Michalak said…
1. Did you know how hardy large red kangaroos are? What surprised you the most?
No, never heard about their body measures. Propably the biggest suprise was that female can have three kids on the different stage of aging.

2. Could you tell us something more about those incredible animals that wasn’t mentioned?
Sadly, no I am not into kangaroo stuff.

3. What could we do to save the wild nature?
In my opinion firstly we should stop devastating it. It would be a big step forward. Secondly there should be less humans on the planet, we are in too big numbers to properly use all resources without stealing from other live organisms. Thirdly we should invest more in our cities to make them more green, by this people wouldn't need to go far into the forest to be with nature, so animals would have more place for them.
1. Did you know how hardy large red kangaroos are? What surprised you the most?
I had no idea. Never heard about this species before. It is really surprising for me to see how strong they are.
2. Could you tell us something more about those incredible animals that wasn’t mentioned?
I do not know much in field of kangaroo stuff. sorry :)
3. What could we do to save the wild nature?
Change our lifestyle. For more eco friendly. Small things matters like wasting plastic when it is unnecessary. Riding a communication instead of car when we can. It is a matter of thinking about consequences of our choices. Changing this habits will be better not only for our planet but also for us :)
1. I knew they were big, but not as much. I wouldn’t like to meet two meters high creature in person 😊

2. Unfortunately, I am not that much interested in this topic.

3. To be brutally honest – stop buying Chinese products. It is Asia which produces most pollution, and their quality standards are just disgusting. It’s not only harmful for the wildlife, but also for ourselves. Pointing this out is unfortunately pointless, because most people will always seek the cheapest options possible, without considering any other factors at all. The latest example is coronavirus which is entirely their fault. Spreading tons of shit all over the world is now accompanied by spreading diseases.
Adam Tokarczyk said…
1. You could say my knowledge about kangaroos end on how they look and that they have bags for children :D. Oh and that they live in Australia. Which might be achievement in
itself, because it's not friendly or easy environment.

2. Hmmm... they can box pretty well. I think? At least it's how they appear in internet videos

3. Wild nature will never be safe as long as human coexists on same planet. The best thing we can do is probably designating more areas to nature reserves, where animals can live in peace, without our interference. Stopping destruction of nature sounds nice and all, just like being more eco-friendly. But I doubt it's possible to limit our influence on nature enough for it to survive in unchanged form, and won't suffice for wild nature to survive.
I think that he most surprising thing for me was that female kangaroo can have three children in different state of evolution at the same time. I had no idea that kangaroo can produce three different types of milk to provide what is best for their children, I find it really amazing. Well I don’t really know much about kangaroos so I don’t think that I can share any more information about them with You, but I can say that I really enjoyed reading about them, they are more interesting then I thought. 😊 Answering Your last question, I think that we could stop polluting our planet and stop taking land where they live. And all other things that we can do to stop destroying nature, but that is whole other subject. :P
1. I am very surprised by the difference in height and weight that occurs between sexes among kangaroos. It's hard to imagine that a female can be even 3 times smaller and shorter than a male. I also didn't know that this kangaroo world is male-dominated

2. Recently I heard somewhere, probably in one of the latest movies, that kangaroos have a lot in common with rats. It's about survival instinct - they are able to survive even in very adverse conditions.

3. I think that very strict restrictions on the protection of nature and animals are already being introduced. However, for them to be, it is necessary for EVERYONE to follow them. Unfortunately, many countries and communities do not comply with animal protection bans. There are basically no penalties. The same happens with ecology and climate change. Countries like China - don't follow global trends and plans.
Yubin said…
1. Did you know how hardy large red kangaroos are? What surprised you the most?
I never knew that the male red kangaroo can be up to 3 meters tall and heavier than most humans. I used to travel to Australia and saw wild kangaroos when I was on the tour bus, and now I think all I saw might be female, because they were not that big.

2. Could you tell us something more about those incredible animals that wasn’t mentioned?
I'm watching videos of kangaroo fights now, and I found that they can use their tails to handle balance when kicking others, I never knew this.

3. What could we do to save the wild nature?
We could do many small things, even garbage sorting at home can also help fight global warming. Besides, local governments should establish more natural animal sanctuaries.
Andrzej Kawiak said…
1. Did you know how hardy large red kangaroos are? What surprised you the most?

I knew that Red kangaroo was the national animal of Australia. The most interesting information for me was that these kangaroos cool down by licking their forearms. It is very astonishing that they live in an extremely inhospitable environment: dry areas inside the continent can adapt. They can withstand long without water, drawing moisture from the plants they eat. They travel many kilometres, even 216 km, in search of watering holes.

2. Could you tell us something more about those incredible animals that wasn’t mentioned?

There are twice as many kangaroos in Australia as people. These animals in Australia are often treated as pests. They damage fences, take away water and food from farm animals and destroy cereals. A lot of them die under the wheels of cars. From 2010 to 2016, the number of kangaroos has doubled from about 27 million to 45 million. The sudden increase in the kangaroo population is due to the increased frequency of rainfall in these years.

3. What could we do to save the wild nature?

I think the best help for them is a lack of integration and a protected environment. The nautra will protect itself if we give it a chance.
1. Did you know how hardy large red kangaroos are? What surprised you the most?
I didn't know any of kangaroos type before. The size and weight of red male kangaroos is really impressive. I think this is what surprised me the most.

2. Could you tell us something more about those incredible animals that wasn’t mentioned?
Unfortunately i have never read about kangaroos details before.

3. What could we do to save the wild nature?
I think the most important thing is to stop cut trees. We should also save some wild regions and stop demaging them to build some new buildings. Sadly i think this is not possible but we can reduce this to the minimum. Honestly even if we could stop crashing nature some species will disapear anyway.
1. Did you know how hardy large red kangaroos are? What surprised you the most?
I didn’t know anything about hardness of large red kangaroos. I don’t have particular interest in topic of animal kingdom. I am not feeling surprised about any of it.
2. Could you tell us something more about those incredible animals that wasn’t mentioned?
My dog is incredible animal. She has a lot of very visible empathy towards other animals and humans. That isn’t something common for any animal. When my cat got stuck in branches of some tree, she went to me and she started barking to draw my attention. She made me follow her to the tree and she pointed the cat with her head.

3. What could we do to save the wild nature?
The most important thing we can do for wild nature is to fight global warming. If we don’t stop it we the outcome for the nature as well as for us will be catastrophic.
Bartosz Warda said…
1. Did you know how hardy large red kangaroos are? What surprised you the most?

Most surprising was the number of red kangaroos present. This was surprising as kangaroos generally come from areas around Australia where desertification makes them very rare, and with very few brown kangaroos there was never enough to establish the Southern boundaries of this area.

2. Could you tell us something more about those incredible animals that wasn’t mentioned?

There was a lot of discussion about the marsupials living on the north coast of the island and that was covered in the 'Advice to Australians' of 2004. Red kangaroos are recognised throughout the world for their uniqueness and beauty but were so rare to see in Australia that it was hard to believe there were still a few red kangaroos over there.

3. What could we do to save the wild nature?

We need to restore the ecological balance in the wild environments. We also need to teach the children about nature. You have to give them the means to live a healthy, peaceful life and give them the desire to protect nature.
1. Did you know how hardy large red kangaroos are? What surprised you the most?
I used to see them at the zoo when I was a child so I know that they are huge. But the fact that a female can have 3 babies at a different stage was quite surprising.

2. Could you tell us something more about those incredible animals that weren’t mentioned?

I don't really know any scientific fact about them that wasn't mentioned in the article. But I really liked the game "Kao the Kangaroo" when I was a kid.

3. What could we do to save the wild nature?

We can protect them against hunters and we can try to save their natural environment. I can't think about any specific step but I am no expert.
1. Did you know how hardy large red kangaroos are? What surprised you the most?
To be honest, I didn’t know that red kangaroos are so hardy. I am surprised that female kangaroos are almost always pregnant. I didn’t know that kangaroos could have up to 3 children at the same time. This is amazing that mother’s organism can change composition of milk. It’s a vary interesting article.

2. Could you tell us something more about those incredible animals that wasn’t mentioned?
Unfortunately this is not my area of interest. I don’t know anything else about those incredible animals.

3. What could we do to save the wild nature?
I think we should create areas without humans where the nature is wild. We should stop cutting trees and devastating nature. Many animals species are becoming extinct because of humans. This is our fault. For many people money is everything.
1. Did you know how hardy large red kangaroos are? What surprised you the most?
I used to watch Animal Planet where all the curiosities about animals were shown. Because
I knew that kangaroos can be very tall.

2. Could you tell us something more about those incredible animals that wasn’t mentioned?
In total, you probably listed all the trivia. Certainly one of the cool curiosities is the fact that when you hit
kangaroo in the face you win with him :)

3. What could we do to save the wild nature?
You have to change a lot of things to save the environment. Only not at the expense of people because recently too
this is the topic being discussed.
1. Did you know how hardy large red kangaroos are? What surprised you the most?
Actually i didnt know anything about red kangaroos or any kangaroos at all. I was really supreised about reproductive system of red kangaroos females. Its something extraordinary.

2. Could you tell us something more about those incredible animals that wasn’t mentioned?
Unfortunatelly i dont know anything more about red kangaroos. I have no intrest in them before.

3. What could we do to save the wild nature?
We should get involved as a human kind to save it. Only group work can get some progress in saving wild nature.
Kgajewska said…
1. To be honest I had no idea about large kangaroos are. Their's life is quite intresting and suprising for me.

2. As I said before, I'm not an animal expert, so sadly no, I'm not able to add something to this topic

3. Just care about it! But, I mean, trully care about wild nature. Less talking, more doing.
Olga Bogdał said…
1. I knew they were big but it surprised me that their height their height can be up to two meters.
2. I don't really know anything more than what was said on this subject but I think that the example of this animals shows us how incredible the evolution works so that it created such amazing species.
3. I think we all heard about the fires that that consumed large parts of Australia earlier this year. I think people should stop eating meat since livestock farming produces the world's biggest carbon footprint and is contributing to increasing global warming.
Aleksander said…
1. I knew that so it wasn’t a surprise for me.
2. Well, a few days ago I saw a video with kangaroo fighting with each other. Thought they could try a kick-boxing discipline as they are using pretty the same technique.
3. Stop globalisation process or change the way we are expanding. But I’m not sure if we should stop our progress. Rather we could try to live more eco. Don’t harm a forests, stop pulling the air and the rivers. Hard topic.
Klaudia Kozioł said…
1. I didn’t know that male kangaroos could be this big and also the whole reproductive process is really impressive. The fact that female kangaroos are always pregnant shook me probably the most.
2. Unfortunately, I don’t know much about this beautiful creatures.
3. The most important thing we could do in my opinion would be living it on its own, not cutting trees, stop trying to intervene in it and juts letting it be wild
1. Did you know how hardy large red kangaroos are? What surprised you the most?

It was shock to see them in action.

2. Could you tell us something more about those incredible animals that wasn’t mentioned?

Unfortunattly no - I have seen them for the first time

3. What could we do to save the wild nature?

Make rules and policies to protecting it and take care of people to follow those rules
Jakub Kisiała said…
1. I have seen a video in internet where some guy was boxing with kangaroo. It was so ridiculous.

2. I don't know anything more about them.

3. There are a few ways. Especially protection for natural environment. In Europe we care about where we throw our rubbish, but in Asia... In the internet there is many pictures where they just use rivers as effluents. In this pictures there is plastic bags of trash flowing in water. Not a few but a lot of them. For what we develop super-hybrid cars trying to reduce our carbon footprint when they just don't care even about it. But some people can find this way of life as business...
MichalB said…
1. Did you know how hardy large red kangaroos are? What surprised you the most?

A lot of things about red kangaroos surprised me. I never knew there were different species. Looking for red I found a ginger and I get the impression that they are the same. Indeed, the number of species is considerable.

2. Could you tell us something more about those incredible animals that wasn’t mentioned?

Personally, I have always been fascinated by the Australian Platypus. I have been fascinated since childhood and I hope that one beautiful day I will fly to Australia and see him.

3. What could we do to save the wild nature?

You just have to protect her. That's all. I think that's enough. Protect and respect.
Zygmunt Z said…
1. Did you know how hardy large red kangaroos are? What surprised you the most?

No, I didn’t know about their exact measures. What also surprises me is their natural strength.

2. Could you tell us something more about those incredible animals that wasn’t mentioned?

No, unfortunately I can’t really say anything interesting on that matter.

3. What could we do to save the wild nature?

I think we should stop eating meat which produces a lot of greenhouse gases that later affect the climate and wildlife in different parts of the world.

1. Did you know how hardy large red kangaroos are? What surprised you the most?
I knew they were a big animals and their kick was surprisingly tough, but I wasn't aware they are so massive.

2. Could you tell us something more about those incredible animals that wasn’t mentioned?
Sadly, kangaroos are not an area of my interests, so i'm not able to say anything more about them.

3. What could we do to save the wild nature?
Besides typical things like recycling etc. which common people can do, humanity can try with treating water. Scientists in Massachusetts Institute of Technology in USA invented a device, which can treat sea water with ion concentration polarisation, that it can be used to drink. This machine is not ready for sale or daily usage, but in the future it could help with drought in places like Australia or Africa and save their wildlife.
Maciej Szczypek said…
1. Did you know how hardy large red kangaroos are? What surprised you the most?

I did not know the exact size of them but I knew that it is impressive, and yet I was really suprised when I got to know the exact measures.

2. Could you tell us something more about those incredible animals that wasn’t mentioned?

Unfortunately I cannot provide any additional information here as I am not much of a kangaroos fan. If it were dogs, I could probably give a hand here!

3. What could we do to save the wild nature?

It is a really wide topic and it cannot be answered in a few sentences. I will paraphrase a classic then: "let them be".
s18716 said…
1. Did you know how hardy large red kangaroos are? What surprised you the most?
Yes, I know some facts about the kangaroo. And I was also aware of their legendary endurance. Nature has decreed that only hardy species of animals survive in the arid regions of Australia by natural selection. Kangaroos are really very well adapted to harsh living conditions. Most of all I was struck by the fact of their growth, more precisely, of the growth of a male. I can’t even imagine a 3 meter kangaroo. Incredible.

2. Could you tell us something more about those incredible animals that wasn’t mentioned?
Well, we can probably add a way of moving. Everyone knows that they move with the help of jumps. This is one of the most common stereotypes about a kangaroo, which is actually true. So, as far as I remember, they are able to jump 10-12 meters in length.

3. What could we do to save the wild nature?
First, we can pay more attention to environmental issues, because animals also suffer from various kinds of environmental pollution. If most people do not notice the consequences of such pollution, but animals are very susceptible to these changes. Secondly, we must fight against poaching, I think it is not necessary to argue this point here. Further, we can create more reserves and national parks in order to limit the impact of people on animals.
1. Did you know how hardy large red kangaroos are? What surprised you the most?
No, I have never heard about red kangaroos before, I am not sure if I understand but, the fact that they can be pregnant time by time impressed mi the most. Also the information about changing the milk for young kangaroos after 3 months is curious.

2. Could you tell us something more about those incredible animals that wasn’t mentioned?
No, unfortunately as I said in the first answer, I have never heard about this specie of kangaroo.

3. What could we do to save the wild nature?
Firstly, we should speak loudly about this and "scream" everywhere when we can about. There are some obvious problems about environment and everyone knows that we should protect their natural surroundings. The best way to help them is letting them live with natural harmony, but we should keep an eye on it.
1.I had no idea that they were so big, I expected them to be massive, but the weight of 135 kg of males is astonishing. However, I was most surprised by the fact how good they are adapted to such extreme conditions that occur in Australia.
2. Unfortunately, it's hard for me to say something more because I'm a poor wildlife specialist, but as far as I know kangaroos ”box"; well and you should be careful of kangaroos because they can be dangerous even for an adult.
3. First of all, reduce the degree of human interference in wildlife. Certainly educating young people and informing people how important it is to take care of our only planet is important and even necessary for humanity
1. Did you know how hardy large red kangaroos are? What surprised you the most?

To be honest, no. I was surprised, that they could be 3m tall, I knew, that they could be tall, but not 3m. Also their weight was a surprise for me, but the most interesting fact was about pregnancy and that females are almost always pregnant and could produce 2 sorts of milk at the same time.

2. Could you tell us something more about those incredible animals that wasn’t mentioned?

I know that they could box very well as well as they like fighting. I have seen some videos, when kangaroos were boxing with people and it was funny I would say. Also, I remember they could jump very high.

3. What could we do to save the wild nature?

I think we should fight with wildfires at the beginning. This year there was a disaster in Australia connected with those extremely powerful wildfires, which caused a lot of death among wild animals. I think we should make a special territories for them and not disturb them and we should inform people more about the problems of wild animals.
lukaszK said…
1. Did you know how hardy large red kangaroos are? What surprised you the most?
Yes, I knew that kangaroos are so big. The biggest surprise for me was that a female kangaroo can produce the milk of different compositions at the same time to provide the offspring with the necessary substances depending on the age of each cub.

2. Could you tell us something more about those incredible animals that wasn’t mentioned?

I was surprised that kangaroos live quite shortly.
Giant kangaroos live on average 7-10 years in the wild, the record in captivity is about 20 years. I thought their life expectancy was similar to monkeys, 20-40 years. Of the other curiosities - in Australia, there are more kangaroos than people.

3. What could we do to save the wild nature?
As I have already mentioned - cultured meat produced in a test tube in combination with vegetarianism, alternative energy sources and ecological construction products like hemp concrete - is a way to save the natural environment, it is our future and the future of the planet.
Could you tell me more about the Zoo Tycoon 2? Is it kind to kids? What is the main achievement of this game? I didn't know that some species of kangaroos are globalized, to be honest, I was sure, that they live only in Australia. Could you describe how we can stop the cultivation of cereals if it is needed for all people over the world, maybe we can replace it with something? A agree that we are to blame for the planet being in such a state.
While I was reading about red kangaroos, their ability to feed up to 3 children on different stages of aging with different components was shocking for me. Thank you for your suggestions how to save our planet, I hope we could implement them.
Maybe you saw another kind of kangaroos, not red kangaroos. As I know, other kangaroo species are smaller. Could you tell me more about the wild nature of Australia? A few years ago I saw a video where a red kangaroo was fighting with a boxer, it was very impressive, but in the same time it looked violently, I'm against of making animal fights, it must be forbidden. I totally agree with you that wild nature must be protected by the government.

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