Kangaroo Facts

Did you know kangaroos are the world’s largest marsupial? They’re such an icon of Australia that they’re even featured on the Coat of Arms. Read on for more fun kangaroo facts.

Image credit: Ondrej Machart / Unsplash

Kangaroos are famous for their jumping. They have strong tails for balance and enormous back feet that help them reach speeds of up to 60km/hour and leap up to 8 metres in a single bound. Their scientific name, Macropodidae, even means ‘big foot’ in Latin.

Female kangaroos carry their young in a soft, warm pouch on their belly. They provide milk for their babies until they’re old enough to feed on a normal kangaroo diet of grass, leaves, flowers, and fruit.

The largest species of kangaroo is the Red Kangaroo, which can weigh up to 90kg and grow up to two metres tall. The smallest species, the Black Wallaroo, weighs around 20kg. Others include the Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Western Grey Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, and Common Wallaroo.

Kangaroos are most active between dusk and dawn and spend a lot of their time grazing. Despite being great jumpers, they are actually more likely to be found moving slowly, using both their front and back feet to take small steps.

These furry giants are incredibly important to the health of Australia’s landscapes. They help regenerate vegetation by spreading the seeds of native grasses and fertilising nutrient-deficient soils throughout their habitats all over the country.

A cruel commercial slaughter

In the last 30 years, more than 90 million kangaroos have been shot for their skin and meat. That’s more than three million every year!

It also means kangaroo hunting is the single largest commercial slaughter of land-dwelling wildlife anywhere in the world.

Kangaroo hunting is incredibly cruel. The animals are usually shot from long distances in the dark so they often don’t die on impact but suffer long and painful deaths. Young kangaroos, still in their mother's pouch, are left to fend for themselves or killed on sight.

Kangaroo leather is used to make hats and shoes, and their meat is used in pet food and restaurants.

Image credit: Mark Stoop / Unsplash

Stopping cruel kangaroo exploitation

World Animal Protection is a member of the International Kangaroo Protection Alliance, a group of animal organisations and individuals committed to protecting kangaroos.

Its thanks to advocacy work from groups like this that sportswear giants Nike and Puma recently announced they would be replacing kangaroo leather with non-animal alternatives in their football boots.

Other companies, like Dutch sports retailer Intersport Netherlands and several meat wholesalers, supermarkets, and restaurants, have also removed kangaroo products from their shelves and menus.

The shift away from using kangaroo leather is a positive step towards protecting these animals, and support from people like you has played a huge part!

There’s no excuse for killing kangaroos when there are non-animal alternatives available. It’s high time other sporting brands like Adidas make the switch too.

Together, we can make sure more companies stop the cruel exploitation of kangaroos.