Great Grey Kangaroo

Scientific Name: Macropus giganteus

Habitat: Australia and Tasmania

Food: Grasses and shrubs

Facts: The great grey kangaroo is one of the largest living marsupials (pouched mammal), weighing over 150 pounds (70 kg). Their long forelimbs facilitate their mode of locomotion--hopping. They can run at speeds of 25 mph (40 km) with 25-foot (8 m) leaps. Although kangaroos live in social groupings called "mobs," there is little social interaction in the group except between mother and young.

The kangaroo uses its tail as a prop while sitting, and a balancing organ while hopping.

If you see a kangaroo methodically chewing away, it may be chewing its food a second time. At least 30 kinds of kangaroos, including the gray kangaroos, regurgitate their food, rechew, and reswallow.

Kangaroos don't sweat. They lick their wrists and forwarms, cooling the blood in a network of tiny blood vessels near the surface of the skin.

Males are called bucks or boomers
Females are called does
Juvenile kangaroos are called fliers,
and baby kangaroos are called joeys.