The Kangaroos are regarded as among the most remarkable of mammals.
Everything about them is extraordinary; their movements and their
attitudes when at rest, the way they seek their food, their
reproduction, their development, and their mental qualities. Twenty
and thirty years ago, it is said, the visitor to Australia could see
more Kangaroos to the square mile than there are jack rabbits to-day,
and it was literally impossible to avoid the countless flocks that
swarmed over the whole island. Walsh says that, with a good rifle, he
could take a position on a rock and shoot all day long, until tired of
the monotony of the slaughter, or until some "old man" kangaroo became
desperate at his killing and decided to turn the table upon him. In
those days men were paid liberally by the sheepowners to kill off the
kangaroos, and it is stated that one hunter would kill several hundred
a day, and one man is known to have cleared $4,500, free of living
expenses, in a single year. The visitor to Australia to-day discovers
a decided change in many ways, but not more so than in the comparative
scarcity of this animal. He may reside on the island for a month or
two and not see one kangaroo. There are still large numbers of them,
but they must be hunted up and their favorite feeding-places located
by guides. The sheepherders caused the creatures to be destroyed in
such numbers before they became of any commercial value that they are
now rarely found outside of the "bush." About three hundred miles
back from the coast thousands can still be found. The country abounds
in straggling bushes, with very few tall trees or woods to obstruct
travel; but the bushes, while in the open country, are tall enough to
make good hiding-places for the marsupials. They feed on the grass,
roots, and leaves, and when startled by a hunter, leap over the bushes
as easily as a rabbit jumps over the tufts of grass.
The hind legs of the kangaroo are powerful weapons. One long claw,
hard as bone or steel, and sharp as a knife at the point, gives the
kangaroo an implement, says a writer in the _Scientific American_,
that can kill a man or beast with one blow. The front paws are not so
strong, but an old fellow has strength enough in them to seize a dog
and hold him under the water until dead. On land they will seize an
enemy and hold him until the hind claws can cut him nearly in two. They
are also good boxers, and when the natives attempt to kill them with
clubs they dodge the implements with all the skill of a professional
pugilist, and unless the man is an expert he may get the worst of the
encounter. Quite a number of hunters have been severely injured, and
some killed, by attempting to corner a wounded kangaroo when enraged
by a bullet wound. The fleetest horse cannot keep pace with any of
the larger kangaroos, but with a little tact the hunters are enabled
to capture them whenever they are sighted. When the creatures are
once started on a run, they will not swerve from their course, but
continue straight onward, leaping over bushes, rocks, and all ordinary
obstacles. The hunters generally station themselves in the line that
the animals are most likely to pursue, and then wait until the dogs or
the rest of the party start them up.
The ordinary gait of the kangaroo, which it assumes principally when
grazing, is a heavy, awkward hobble. It supports its fore feet on the
ground and then pushes the hinder legs on between them. While doing so
it must also support itself on its tail, as else it could not lift its
long hinder legs high enough to render such movements possible. But
it remains in this position no longer than is absolutely necessary.
Whenever it has plucked some favorite plant, it assumes the erect
position to consume it. In their sleep the smaller species adopt a
position similar to that of a hare in its form. Closely crouched to
the ground, they squat down on all fours, the tail being extended
at length behind the body. This position enables them to take flight
instantly.
The kangaroo leaps only on its hinder legs, but its bounds surpass
those of any other animal in length. It presses its fore limbs tightly
against the chest, stretches the tail straight out backwards, thrusts
the long and slender hind legs against the ground with all the force of
the powerful thigh muscles, and darts like an arrow through the air in
a low curve. The leaps follow in immediate succession, and each is at
least nine feet, but the larger species cover, not infrequently, from
twenty to thirty-three feet at a bound, the height of each leap being
from six to ten feet. Few hounds can keep pace with a kangaroo.
The kangaroo rarely gives birth to more than one young at a time. When
the young one is born the mother takes it up with her mouth, opens the
pouch with both fore feet, and attaches the little creature to the
breast. Twelve hours after birth it has a length of only a little over
one and one-fifth inches. Its eyes are closed, its ears and nostrils
are only indicated, the limbs yet unformed. There is not the slightest
resemblance between it and the mother. For nearly eight months it is
nourished exclusively in the pouch. A considerable time after it first
peeps out of the pouch the young one occasionally leaves its refuge and
roams about near its mother, but for a long time it flees back to the
pouch whenever it apprehends any danger. It approaches its mother with
long bounds and dives headlong into the half-open pouch of the quietly
sitting female.
Numerous methods are employed to exterminate the animals; they are
shot with fire-arms or coursed to death by hounds, and that for very
wantonness, for the slain bodies are left to rot in the woods. "That is
the reason," says an anonymous writer, "why the kangaroos are already
exterminated in the environs of all larger cities and settlements; and
if this savage chase is permitted to continue, it will not be long ere
they will be numbered among the rarer animals in the interior also."
The kangaroo readily resigns itself to confinement, and is easily
maintained on hay, green fodder, turnips, grain, bread, and similar
articles of food. It does not require a specially warm shelter in
winter and breeds readily if given proper care. At present it is more
rarely seen in confinement in Europe and America than when it was
more numerous and easier to capture in its native country. With good
treatment it survives a long time; specimens have lived in Europe from
ten to twenty-five years.
The kangaroos are very dull in intellect, even sheep being far
superior to them in this respect. Anything out of the accustomed order
confuses them, for they are not capable of a rapid comprehension of
new surroundings. Every impression they receive becomes clear to them
only gradually. Brehm says a captive kangaroo becomes used to man in
general, but expresses doubt whether it discriminates between its
keeper and other people.