Class: Mammalia

Order: Diprotodontia

 Family: Macropodidae

Genus: Macropus

Species: rufus

Life span: Average 8 years in the wild; up to 25 years under human care

Gestation: Young are born 33 days after mating, and spend a year in the pouch before weaning.

Number of young at birth: Usually only one at a time

Size:  Male red kangaroo can be over 6 ft when standing

Fun Facts:

Red kangaroos are the largest species of kangaroo

Often found on the open plains of inland Australia and can live on very little water.

Males appear maroon with a white face and belly in color

Females are bluish gray in color and are smaller and faster than the males. (can reach speeds up to 30 miles per hour)

Male kangaroos grow steadily bigger and stronger throughout their lives.

A female kangaroo is called a doe, flyer, jill or roo; a male is called a buck, boomer, jack or old man.

Kangaroos cannot walk backward

A mother kangaroo can produce milk of two different types to feed two different babies at the same time. One that has emerged from the pouch but is still nursing and a newborn.