THE HARE KANGAROO.[89]—THE TURATT.
There are many kinds of Kangaroos, and one of them, which is solitary and nocturnal in its habits, is called the Hare Kangaroo, of which Mr. Gould writes:—“The name of Hare Kangaroo has been given to this species as much from its similarity of form and size to the common Hare as from its similarity of habits. I usually found it solitary, and sitting alone on a well-formed seat under the stalk of a tuft of grass on the open plains. For a short distance, its fleetness is beyond that of all others of its group that I have had an opportunity of coursing. Its powers of leaping are also equally extraordinary. While out on the plains in South Australia, I started a Hare Kangaroo before two fleet Dogs. After running to the distance of a quarter of a mile, it suddenly doubled and came back to me, the Dogs following close to its heels. I stood perfectly still, and the animal had arrived within twenty feet before it observed me, when, to my astonishment, instead of branching off to the right or to the left, it bounded clear over my head, and, on descending to the ground, I was able to make a successful shot, by which it was procured. It has the end of the nose covered with a fine set of hairs. The fur is long and soft and very hare-like, and it has small limbs and sharply-pointed nails.”
THE GREAT ROCK KANGAROO.
This is very different from its timid congener just described. It inhabits the sterile and rocky mountains in the south-eastern part of Australia. It scampers about the rocks, and readily escapes Dogs, and it is a dangerous and formidable animal to approach, for it will, if closely pressed, turn on its enemy, and force him over the rocks. It bites, and uses its strong fore-arms very efficiently. It is called Macropus robustus, and is often found in companies of four or six; and it has more powerful fore-limbs than the Great Kangaroo, which is even sometimes the smaller of the two. It has the part of the nose called the muffle without hair.
THE RED KANGAROO[90] is so called from the red tint of the male, which is sometimes marked under the neck and elsewhere. It was found in the plains near the Darling and Murrumbidgee rivers, and is celebrated for its great fleetness; and the female is often called the “Flying Doe.” It is as fast as the Agile Kangaroo,[91] which is long-haired, and is found in Northern and Eastern Australia.
Van Diemen’s Land has a Kangaroo with a long, deep-grey fur, with red on the back of the ears, neck, and shoulders; and it is called the Brush Kangaroo by the settlers. It is eaten and highly esteemed, and its skin is exported for leather. Liking the dense and damp forests of the island, it finds a safe retreat therein, and probably this is what keeps them from extinction, for they have been killed by the thousand, in order to supply contracts for boot-leather. The young of this Kangaroo, which is also called after Bennett the naturalist (Macropus Bennetti), does not leave the pouch of its mother permanently, until it is as large as a Rabbit.
In the north of Australia, in the region of King George’s Sound, there is a small Kangaroo which is not larger than a common Rabbit, and it is a very interesting example of how species may differ from the type of a genus. It has a slender and rather short tail, which is rather scaly, and has but a few hairs on it, but it is not very short. The ears are short and round, and the hind feet are short. The departure from the configuration of the Great and Brush Kangaroo shape is therefore great. It is called the Short-tailed Kangaroo. The last four kinds mentioned are grouped together with others under a sub-genus, Halmaturus (ἅλμα, a leap, and οὐρά, a tail).
THE BRUSH-TAILED ROCK KANGAROO.
BRUSH-TAILED ROCK KANGAROO.