When Australia's first European Explorers saw this strange looking animal as tall, if not taller, as a human, leaping around they asked the Aborigines, "What are these animals ?" amd the Aborigines replied "kangaroo" meaning "I don't understand you". The Explorers thought they were referring to the big-footed hoppers, so they named them Kangaroos.

There are 60 different kinds of Kangaroos and 12 relatives called Rat Kangaroos. Some species are common while others are endangered. Males are larger than females in all the species. The smallest is the female "Warabi Rock Wallaby" which is 2 pounds.

The largest Kangaroo is the male Red and Grey which weigh 200 pounds. The kangaroo is a marsupial mammal, which means it carries its young in a pouch after a short period inside the mother's body.

These unique-looking animals usually jump a distance of about four times their height. A Kangaroo can sprint 40 mph over a 1-2 mile distance and 20 mph for long distances such as 10 miles or more.

Some Kangaroos live alone, some live in families with a bond that lasts a lifetime, while some travel in large mobs. Kangaroos are herbivours and mainly nocturnal animals, but some species are active at dawn and dusk. Generally, they live for 20 years in captivity and approximately six years in the wild.

Our Australian Kangaroos are slowly going blind. A virus has been attacking them and spreading like an epidemic. It is affecting Western Greys, Eastern Greys and there are even some reported cases of Red kangaroos being affected. Some roos have adjusted. Others in the bush stumble around and bump into trees and such and start to stress. The virus can be a death threat because its aggressive path attacks the brain and eyes of the kangaroo. Once the Kangaroo is blind it is permanent. Research in August 1995 discovered the virus which was attacking the Roos is transmitted by the bite of an insect but the problem is, scientists don't know which insect it is.

The most common colours of Kangaroos are blue, grey and red, but they can also be black, yellow or brown. Occasionally there are albino or white kangaroos.

A baby kangaroo is called a "JOEY".