Australian Kangaroos Are Not Cuddly Pets

Don't be fooled by "Skippy the bush kangaroo"

Australian Kangaroos are quiet grazing marsupials, but they can still hurt a human being if frightened or angered.

Their natural fighting defence is to claw at you with their front paws and to kick with their strong hind legs. I have heard it said the rear claws could rip a man's stomach right open.

A large Australian Kangaroo, such as a Grey or a Red can do immense harm if you hit it with your automobile and it crashes through your windscreen. This is why so many country folk have bull bars (also called "roo bars" in Australia) on the front of their vehicles.

Marsupials are animals, unique to Australia, with a pouch where the tiny immature baby crawls inside after its birth and attaches itself to a teat to suckle. At birth it is about as large as a peanut.

As the tiny creature gets larger and its eyes open, it starts to venture out of the pouch and learns to find its own food. But young marsupials, always called 'Joeys', will try to get back into their mothers' pouches for safety.