GREAT KANGAROO.
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LARGER IMAGE
ORDER MARSUPIALIA, MARSUPIAL OR POUCHED ANIMALS.
CHAPTER I.
SUB-ORDER MARSUPIATA.—THE KANGAROO AND WOMBAT FAMILIES.
[THE GREAT KANGAROO]—Captain Cook and the Great Kangaroo—Habitat—Appearance of the Animal—Marsupials separated from the other Mammalian Orders, and why (Footnote)—Gestation and Birth of Young (Footnote)—Mode of Running—The Short Fore Limbs—The Marsupium, or Pouch—Head—Dentition—Peculiarities in the Teeth—Hind Extremities—Foot—Great Claw—How the Erect Position is maintained—Whence their Jumping Power is derived—Other Skeletal Peculiarities—Kangaroo Hunts—Becoming Rarer—Mode of Attack and Defence—Hands—Bones of the Fore Limbs—Skull—Stomach—Circulation of Blood—Peculiarity in Young—Nervous System not fully developed—Brain—The Baby Kangaroo in the Pouch—[THE HARE KANGAROO]—[THE GREAT ROCK KANGAROO]—[THE RED KANGAROO]—[THE BRUSH KANGAROO]—[THE BRUSH-TAILED ROCK KANGAROO]—[THE COMMON TREE KANGAROO]—[THE KANGAROO-RATS]—Characteristics—[THE RAT-TAILED HYPSIPRYMNUS]—Description—[THE WOMBAT FAMILY]—[THE WOMBAT]—Peculiarities—Description—Habits—Teeth—Skeleton.
I. THE KANGAROO FAMILY.[81]—THE GREAT KANGAROO.[82]
IN the year A.D. 1770, the great circumnavigator, Captain Cook, was on the coast of New South Wales repairing his ship, and a party of sailors were sent on land, to procure food for the sick. They saw an animal whose description tempted Cook himself, and also Mr. Banks (afterwards Sir Joseph Banks), to land and go in pursuit of it the next day. The animal was seen in company with others of its kind, and its short front limbs, great hind legs, and huge tail, and the tremendous hops it made in its very fleet course, quite bore out the statements of the astonished crew. They had seen, for the first time, the Great Kangaroo in its wild condition and on its own ground. Soon afterwards a specimen was shot, and notes were made about the creature, and some skins were brought over to Europe.
The animal has now become familiar to the civilised world. It is, however, gradually receding before the Australian colonist and squatter; but formerly it roamed all over the plains of New South Wales, Southern and Western Australia, Queensland, and Van Diemen’s Land, with only the aborigines for its enemies. It is called Bundaary and Bullucur by the natives of the Liverpool range and Murray, and the name Kangaroo is a mistaken native one.
On looking at one of the Great Kangaroos in some menagerie or zoological garden, the first peculiarities that strike the eye are its small fore limbs, its very large and long hind ones, and the great and thick tail. The smallness of the head, which has rather long ears, and a long dusky brown muzzle, the length of the body, and the comfortable grey-brown, thick, shortish fur, are then noticed. But the principal fact which impresses all these things upon the visitor, is that the female may have a little Kangaroo with its head poked out of a kind of pouch in the under part of the body. Sometimes the little one jumps out and gets in again if it is frightened, and the old one moves, hops, and jumps about, with its portable nursery, with the greatest ease.[83]
Sometimes the Kangaroos may be seen feeding, and then the awkwardness of their gait becomes evident; for the small fore legs and curious paws are on or very close to the ground, whilst the back part of the body is raised up by the long hind legs, and, as it were, balanced by the great tail. These hind legs seem to do nearly all the running, or rather jumping, both being used together; and the tail is of use in supporting the long body when the animal suddenly raises itself up straight, and squats on its hind quarters. The small front legs then appear quite stunted, and the ears stick up, and the small head is held straight. But in slow walking, the fore feet are placed on the ground, and the animal rests on them whilst it brings the long hind quarters forward and outside them. Evidently the senses of hearing and sight are very acute; but they are used to warn the animal of danger, rather than to urge it to attack, for it is a feeder on herbs, leaves, and grass, and often may be seen reclining and moving its jaws, as if it were chewing the cud after a fashion.