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.
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