kangaroos eat grass,Kangaroo is an amazing mammalian species known for its hoping movement. With large distinctive foot, this largest marsupial animal is indigenous to Australia. Taxonomically, kangaroo is a member of the Macropodidae family with over 47 species. It possesses some of the interesting attributes, hence learning kangaroo facts is a fascinating topic for kids and animal lovers all across the globe.So what do kangaroos eat and drink in the wild habitat? Do they drink a lot of water? The primary diet of terrestrial kangaroos is green vegetation. They derive required water from the grasses and vegetation. Of course, kangaroos drink water, but can go without it for a long period. The red kangaroo can live without water for as long as 2-3 months. This is an adaptation, as red kangaroo habitat falls in xeric region.
Taken at a glance, there are two groups of kangaroos, which differ in the body size. The population of larger species (red kangaroo and eastern gray kangaroo) remains unaffected with human intervention, while many of the smaller versions (wallabies) are included in the endangered animals list. Both these terrestrial kangaroos are truly herbivores and feed on grasses, ground covers and other green vegetation.
While eastern gray kangaroo is adapted for grazing grass, the red kangaroo consumes grass and young, succulent buds of shrubs. They tend to rest in shade during daytime, to avoid exposure to scorching heat. Hence, feeding time for these marsupials is either in the early morning or late afternoon, when the environmental temperature drops down to comfortable range. This again contributes to minimizing loss of water from body.
According to the food availability, diets of red kangaroo and tree kangaroo differ slightly. They belong to different taxonomic genus, and differ greatly in their size (the red kangaroo being the larger species). Needless to mention, the tree kangaroo has greater accessibility to tree foliage and fruits. Hence, it prefers to feed on tree leaves, flowers, bark, grains and fruits. Also, it is omnivorous in food habit, and consumes eggs of other animals and birds.
Whether you are referring to large kangaroos in wild or farm kangaroos, one thing remains the same, i.e. these Australian animals are herbivorous. However, those farmed kangaroos are fed with a broad range of foods, including carrots, corn, grains, young shoots of plants and other vegetables. Some animal keepers introduce bread and other nutritious food for feeding kangaroo. The formulated food for kangaroo is similar to dry version of vegetarian dog food.
If you are wondering about what do baby kangaroos eat, they remain in the mother's pouch for the purpose of suckling and protecting from predators. At birth, the young kangaroo (joey) weighs a fraction of an ounce. Isn't it hard to believe? But it is true, and the small-sized joey feeds while remaining in the pouch. It completes postnatal period in its mother's pouch, and emerge only after two months.
Similar to cattle and other grazing animal species, kangaroos have the ability to regurgitate already swallowed food and chew it for better digestion. In fact, they are adapted to low nutritious, fiber rich diet. An interesting part with digestive system of kangaroo is harboring beneficial bacteria in the stomach. These microbes not only help in digestion of food particles, but they also reduce the production of methane gas.
A fun fact is that it produces gas in large amounts, which along with other gassy animals contribute to climatic change (at least to some extent). Hence, some experts are of the opinion that encouraging farmers to rear kangaroos for meat will help in minimizing agricultural emissions.
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