The kangaroo's family name, Macropodidae, means "big feet," a great description for kangaroos and their relatives. The kangaroo's muscular design lets it move in a way called saltation that is unique to macropods. This means that it hops, both feet pushing off the ground at the same time. Kangaroos can literally not separate their hind legs. So when they hop, both legs are together, and when they walk both legs are together and they push themselves forward with their tail. Large kangaroos can cover over 7 meters per hop when cruising at top speed and have been clocked at more than 48 kilometers per hour in short bursts! Like a perpetual-motion machine, hopping kangaroos are able to keep moving without expending much energy. In fact, kangaroos actually burn less energy the faster they hop, at least up to their cruising speed of 32 kilometers per hour.
We have over 25 kangaroos, and not all of our kangaroos have names. Queenie is our oldest female and Zane is our oldest male.
Queenie, Female: Apr 06, 1999
Zane, Male: Sep 03, 2006
Congratulations to JB, Awol, KurtB and Hakliva on the FTF for this one!