Hop Aboard the Kangaroo Express Quiz

Answer: Bucks

And the female of the species are either called does, flyers or jills. Baby kangaroos are called joeys. A group of kangaroos is referred to as a mob, troop or court.

Answer: Balance when hopping

Kangaroos have very powerful back legs which they use for hopping. Their tail acts as a form of balancing beam. They can travel amazingly fast at top speeds - and the joey sits up like a coxswain in the mother's pouch and enjoys the ride. Only when travelling slowly to go a couple of paces, will it use its two front legs, by putting them down on the ground and then pulling the back ones forwards.

At their top speed of over 70 kph, they're beautiful to watch in flight.

Answer: Herbivores

Very definitely so. They eat grass - much to the annoyance of farmers - and small shrubs. When their teeth wear down from chewing, they fall out and new ones replace them.

Answer: True

It is the largest of the kangaroos and the largest extant marsupial. Red kangaroos are found in most parts of Australia but they avoid fertile areas so are mainly located in the central regions.

Answer: Man

Over time the natural animal predators of kangaroos have evolved out of existence. However man is still going strong. Dingoes, which are an introduced threat to their existence, pose a lesser threat, but they don't exactly make kangaroos hop for joy either. Goannas and eagles usually eat the flesh of dead kangaroos.

The barking of dogs is something that terrifies kangaroos. Dingos don't bark. Man, however, is far and away the greatest predator of the kangaroo.

Answer: Yes

Kangaroos are surprisingly good swimmers and often take to the water to escape threats. If attacked whilst in the water, they have been known to disembowel predators with their powerful back legs, or hold them under with their front paws until drowning occurs.

Answer: He stops producing sperm

Australia is the driest continent on earth with periodic and prolonged drought part of its ongoing environmental cyclic. The food that kangaroos need to survive upon becomes very scarce during these times - so mother nature puts their reproductive process on hold until the rains come again.

Answer: Permanently

Yes, it's true - the female is permanently pregnant except on the day she gives birth. Until the current joey is old enough to fend for itself and in times of drought however, the female kangaroo puts her embryo into a type of marking time status so that it develops no further until ready. Even more interesting, the mother has the ability to make two kinds of milk - one to keep the embryo alive and another for the current joey she's rearing.

Answer: Elastic type tendons in their back legs

It is these tendons, rather than muscles, which gives the kangaroo its powerful hopping ability. This has been likened to a catapult's energy which is stored when it is ready to be shot. Surprisingly, kangaroos don't actually use very much energy when hopping, and the hopping mechanism is used mainly in the long journeys it has to take in search of food in this very dry continent.

Answer: Boxing

These amazing creatures actually box and grapple with their front paws in either play, or in who's the boss encounters, or to win a mate. Humans have been known to use kangaroos as sparring partners in the sport of boxing. However, please don't try this yourself. Though it is extremely rare, these beautiful animals have been known to kill people.