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Class:
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Mammalia
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Order:
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Diprotodontia
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Family:
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Macropodidae
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Genus:
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Macropus
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Species:
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rufus
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Life span:
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Average 8 years in the wild; up to 25 years under human care
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Gestation:
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Young are born 33 days after mating, and spend a year in the pouch before weaning.
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Number of young at birth:
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Usually only one at a time
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Size:
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Male red kangaroo can be over 6 ft when standing
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Weight:
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Male red kangaroo, up to 200 lb
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Fun Facts:
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Red kangaroos are the largest species of kangaroo
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Often found on the open plains of inland Australia and can live on very little water
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Males appear maroon with a white face and belly in color
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Females are bluish gray in color and are smaller and faster than the males. (can reach speeds up to 30 miles per hour)
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Male kangaroos grow steadily bigger and stronger throughout their lives
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A female kangaroo is called a doe, flyer, jill or roo; a male is called a buck, boomer, jack or old man.
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Kangaroos cannot walk backward
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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.
