Kangaroos have incredible character, unlike other wild animals. They have a unique character of hopping when moving and love spending their time together after grazing. There is no time on sunny days you’ll walk around Australian grasslands and dry woodland without spotting a resting kangaroo. For this reason, are kangaroos lazy?
Whether you’re from Australia or not, defining the character of kangaroos could sometime be difficult. The feeding habit and resting behavior could be challenging when differentiating from laziness. Therefore, we have made work more straightforward for you. Here are all possible questions you would want to answer about a kangaroo’s behavior.
Read: Do Kangaroos Eat Meat?
Contents
Are Kangaroos Lazy Animals?
It’s difficult to tell if kangaroos are lazy or not. Generally, they are nocturnal animals and would spend most of the night hours grazing in the dark and spend some of the day hours resting. Although they like feeding in the dark, they also spend some of the day hours, mainly when it’s cloudy. When the sun becomes too scorching, they go into shades to rest.
However, there are times when kangaroos become lazy. Domesticated kangaroos are at a high risk of becoming lazy. Simply because they are fed and eventually adopt the feeding condition and wait for food while spending the rest of the time playing and resting.
Can You Tame Kangaroos?
It’s illegal to tame a wild kangaroo in most of the Australian state of Victoria. But it is possible to tame a kangaroo. Most wild animals can be tamed from a young age and adapt to the new environment you’ll take them in. But for the sake of kangaroos, just like other wild animals, it could become dangerous as it grows.
You can buy a domesticated kangaroo from the sanctuary or the Australian farms. Taking a kangaroo out of the wild to domesticate is illegal; the same applies to smuggling a kangaroo out of the country.
Also, most US states allow ownership of kangaroos bought from farms and ranches. If you want to tame one, they are plenty of ranches where you can buy a kangaroo in the US. Places like California and New Jersey ban ownership rights of kangaroos.
Can Kangaroos Be Friendly?
Typically, kangaroos are friendly, but in most cases, they are shy and can even become aggressive. They become aggressive and primarily violent when provoked. These animals are very dangerous and aggressive. They have sharp nails on their powerful paws and strong hind limbs, which they could use for kicks.
Besides, they can use their heavy and powerful tail to hurt anyone threatening them.
However, friendliness depends on the environment they live in. You should not expect a wild kangaroo to be as friendly as a tame one. Animals in captives tend to get familiar with their owners and could even approach them for food.
It is rare to see this behavior trait in wild kangaroos. Wild kangaroos are generally shy and would escape when you approach them. However, they can be too aggressive when you become too close.
Do Kangaroos Have Emotions?
Kangaroos have emotions and feelings just like human beings. They experience sorrow, love, happiness, sadness, fear, and anger. Most importantly, kangaroos can react to the human tone of voice. In some scenarios, you could see a kangaroo communicating its feelings by noisily stomping its hind legs on the ground. This behavior is a way of communicating with other kangaroos.
For the domesticated ones, when you take a box with a kangaroo’s food inside and close it before the kangaroo, the kangaroo will try several attempts to open it. After unsuccessful trials, it’ll approach it could approach you and scratch your legs while looking at the box with food, signifying that you should open it.
Read: Can Kangaroos Swim?
Can You Keep Kangaroo as a Pet?
Yes, you can keep a kangaroo as a pet. It is legal to buy kangaroo from a sanctuary and keep them as pets. Kangaroos can be good pets at a young age. A joey is very loving and cuddling, and you probably like that. However, as it grows to adulthood, things may change. It could become more violent and aggressive.
On the other hand, buying a fully grown kangaroo to keep as a pet is impossible. Fully grown kangaroos would not like new, unfamiliar environments.
For example, a fully grown kangaroo from the wild will never accept to be anyone’s pet. It could also be a challenging task for you. You will separate it from its family, which could be more suspicious and eventually hurt you.
What Do You Call a Baby Kangaroo?
Joey is the name given to a baby kangaroo. Joey can be tiny as the size of a bean grain. They spend most of their time in the mother’s pouch until when ready to venture into the world.
The mother’s pouch has three teats small enough to fit the mouth of the joey. At birth, a joey uses instincts to locate the teats; it navigates up the pouch until it reaches the teat and tightly hangs itself to suck milk.
During this time, the mother cleans the pouch by leaking. It does so to remove waste from the joey. Conditions inside the pouch are very favorable for the growth of the young one. The mother’s body frequently releases a sticky fluid to ensure wetness.
When fully grown, it is ready to come out of the pouch to practice feeding on the grass and sucking the outside teat for milk. It does not permanently leave the pouch until it is grown enough not to fit in the pouch. During this time, it entirely feeds on grass and quits sucking the mother’s milk.
Are Kangaroos Aggressive to Humans?
Kangaroos can be too aggressive to humans, especially when you cross boundaries and enter their territories. Also, they can be too aggressive during mating seasons. Kangaroos are wild animals and won’t know if you approach them with goodness or not. Besides, kangaroos are aggressive enough to fight their rivals to gain status in their groups or mob.
Male kangaroos are the most dangerous of all. When fully grown, they can weigh up to 220 pounds and reach six feet high. It will use its hind limbs to kick you out when threatened.
The force from the kicks could cause severe injuries or even death. Also, they can push or use sharp nails or powerful paws to rip you off. Most people refer to the kangaroo’s fighting technique as ‘’Boxing’’.
Are Kangaroos Smarter Than Humans?
Kangaroos are not more intelligent than humans but are masters of their habitats. Most people consider kangaroos as dumb creatures simply because they hop in front of your car that has bright headlights and remain for some there. This happens because the headlights are blinding, thus making the kangaroo not know what is lying beyond the light.
To studies, kangaroos have shown a high level of cognitive behavior in different scenarios. They can communicate with humans to get food. They can use body language or scratch at you to get their attention. Another intelligent behavior is that kangaroos are best known to hop in one direction and will never hop without knowing where they will land.
Are Kangaroos Strong?
Kangaroos are strong animals. They have powerful hind limbs that help them hop at high speed despite their body weight. They can grow up to 200 pounds in weight. Male kangaroos never stop growing. Kangaroo’s body energy goes hand-in-hand with its body weight. Therefore, fully grown kangaroos, primarily male, are much stronger than young ones.
Kangaroos exist in various species. They include red kangaroos, eastern grey kangaroos, western grey kangaroos, and antilopine kangaroos. Red kangaroos are the largest of all, and a fully-grown red kangaroo is much stronger than the others.
Red kangaroos occupy most parts of the Xeric Shrub lands of Australia, the WWF Biomes Desert, and the Tropical savanna except on the east coast, extreme southwest, and extreme north of the country.
Where Do Kangaroos Live?
Kangaroos occupy different regions in Australia. You’ll find them around the beaches, wet rainforests, Australian plains, and dry central parts. Different varieties occupy different habitats.
Antilopine kangaroo occupies the perennial grasses of northern Australia; eastern grey kangaroo inhabits mostly the eastern parts of Australia. Western grey occupies the island and southern parts of Australia, while the Red kangaroo occupies the tropical savannah.
Final Verdict
It’s hard to tell if kangaroos are lazy because they spend most of the daytime relaxing in shades. Because they are nocturnal, they become active mainly during the night hours. However, although they like feeding in the dark, they also spend some of the day hours, especially when it is cloudy.
On the other hand, it is possible to tame kangaroos; however, kangaroo is a wild animals and could become more aggressive and leave you with severe injuries and even death.
Most domesticated kangaroos are friendly. Wild kangaroos have little exposure to humans and are shy, and could even be aggressive when you approach. Generally, wild animals are not friendly when you enter their territories.
