Kangaroos in Zoological Garden, Adelaide, Australia
Here you see the strangest animals in the world. They are kangaroos. As some of them sit here, they look like large rabbits. You will observe that they are of all ages and sizes, ranging from the big one near the fence to the very small one a few feet back of the largest one. Kangaroos belong to the family of animals known as marsupials (mär-s´ p-l). This long word means pouch, and the name is applied to such animals because the young are carried in pouches. Our opossum belongs to this same class, and is the only species of marsupials that we have in North America. Kangaroos are found wild only in Australia. We know, however, that formerly they were in many lands. The large variety of kangaroos is about 5 feet tall when full-grown. All these animals have very short fore legs and very heavy hind legs. They do not travel on all fours, but race very rapidly on their strong hind legs by leaping. You will observe that they really use as feet their hind legs from the knees to the toes. They feed on plants only, and are very timid animals except when brought to bay. Then they put up a dangerous fight, kicking and scratching with their hind legs and beating with their strong tail. You will observe that the tail serves as a support to the body. Young kangaroos are only about an inch long when born. They are carried in the mother's pouch for several weeks. The scene here shown is in the National Park in the suburbs of Adelaide. Adelaide is on the south shore of Australia about 500 miles northwest of Melbourne. It is the capital of South Australia, and has a population of almost 200,000. It is built on a level plain. Port Adelaide is on the Gulf of St. Vincent, 1 1/2 miles away. Keystone ID: 15902 Note: All titles, descriptions, and location coordinates are from the original Keystone Slide documentation as supplied by the Keystone View Company. No text has been edited or changed.