Kangaroo

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Macropus rufus

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Macropus giganteus

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Macropus fuliginosus

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A kangaroo is any of several large macropods (the marsupial family that also includes the wallabies, tree kangaroos, wallaroos, pademelons and the quokka: 45 species in all). The term kangaroo is sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to all members of the macropod family. Kangaroos are native to the continent of Australia, while a number of tree kangaroos are found in New Guinea.

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The word kangaroo is said to derive from the Guugu Yimidhirr (an Australian Aboriginal language) word gangurru, referring to the Grey Kangaroo (see photo to the right). The name was first recorded as kangaru by Joseph Banks on James Cook's first voyage of exploration, when they were beached at the mouth of the Endeavour River in the harbour of modern Cooktown for almost 7 weeks repairing their ship which had been damaged on the Great Barrier Reef.

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Kangaroo soon became adopted into standard English where it has come to mean any member of the family of kangaroos and wallabies. The belief that it means "I don't understand" is a popular myth that is also applied to any number of other Aboriginal-sounding Australian words. Male kangaroos are called bucks, boomers or jacks; females are does, flyers, or jills and the young are joeys. The collective noun for kangaroos is a mob.

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Family: :This article is about the human domestic group. For other uses, see Family (disambiguation)....

Wallabies: REDIRECT Wallaby (disambiguation)...

Wallaroo: :For the town called Wallaroo on Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, see Wallaroo, South Australia....

Kangaroo related Images and Photos (experimental)

Kangaroo	Kangaroo Jack	Kangaroo Jack (DVD) (WS)	Kangaroo Jack (DVD) (FS)
Kangaroo Jack (DVD) (WS)	Woodblock Kangaroo	Australian Kangaroo	Giant Kangaroo Leaping
Racing Stripes/Kangaroo Jack (DVD) (FS) (DBFE)	Kangaroo Island Cormorants Perched on Boat	Kangaroo Among Sheep on the Australian Plains	Hunting the Kangaroo Aborigines in New South Wales