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Kangaroos are a special kind mammal.They are marsupials. After a baby kangaroo is born, it crawls up into its mother’s
warm, dark pouch. The baby is the size of a Lima bean. Baby Kangaroos are called joeys. Joeys stay in the pouch 7-9 months
- growing and drinking their mother’s milk. Make your own joeys Materials needed:
Brown paper lunch bags, string or yarn, dried Lima beans, tape.What to do: Fold rim of paper bag over to make a collar and
slide the string underneath to create a waistband. Secure the waistband with tape.
Tie the "pouches" around your waist. Place a lima bean baby in your pouch. This is your new baby joey.
Now get ready to be a kangaroo mob! Male kangaroos are called boomers, females are does, juveniles are called fliers, and
babies are joeys. Kangaroos move by hopping. Big feet and long hind legs are used for quick, big hops. Their tail helps them
keep balance. Kangaroos are the fastest marsupials, reaching bursts of speed up to fifty miles an hour! Stretch a 25 foot
piece of tape on the floor. This is how long a kangaroo can jump while running its top speed. Compare your hopping abilities
to a kangaroo’s.
Think About It .
Can you think of another marsupial that lives right here in Arkansas? I will give you some hints about this marsupial. It
is the size of a cat, and it has a long hairless tail, a long snout, and is gray and white. You have probably only seen them
at night. It is the opossum. The opossum mother has a pouch like the kangaroo, and in it she may carry twelve tiny babies.
Think about other similarities and differences between the kangaroo and the opossum. Which animal hops better? Which can climb
trees?
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