The term kangaroo is used to refer to the largest species of macropodines, a subfamily of marsupials to which the three main species of kangaroos belong: the red kangaroo, the eastern gray kangaroo, and the gray kangaroo western.
In any case we are talking about the animal most representative of Australia, which has large dimensions and can weigh up to 85 kilos and moves through jumps that sometimes reach the dizzying speed of 70 kilometers / hour.
This animal has other characteristic features such as the marsupio, and in its entirety it is a species that attracts our curiosity and is capable of fascinating us, for this reason in this AnimalWised article we will discover everything necessary about feeding kangaroos
The digestive system of kangaroos
The kangaroo bears an important similarity to the sloth bear as well as to bovines, and that is that its stomach is structured into different compartments that allow you to take advantage of all the nutrients you get through the food you eat.
Once the kangaroo has eaten its food, it is able to regurgitate it, chewing it again but this time in the form of a food bolus, which it later swallows again, this time to finish the entire digestive process.
As we will see below, the kangaroo is a herbivore and this characteristic of its digestive system is of vital importance to be able to digest the cellulose that forms the wall of vegetables.
What does the kangaroo eat?
All kangaroos are herbivores, however, depending on the specific species of kangaroo, the foods that make up their diet may present certain degree of variability, let us then see the main food groups eaten by the most emblematic kangaroo species:
- Eastern Gray Kangaroo: It feeds on a large quantity and all kinds of grasses.
- Red Kangaroo: It feeds mainly on bushes, however, it also includes various grasses in its diet.
- Western Gray Kangaroo: It feeds on a wide variety of grasses, however, it also eats the leaves of shrubs and low trees.
Smaller kangaroo species may also include certain types of mushrooms in their diet.
How does the kangaroo eat?
In addition to having a stomach perfectly adapted to the digestion of cellulose, the kangaroo has specialized teeth as a result of its habit of grazing.
The incisor teeth have the ability to pluck grass crops from the ground and the molar pieces cut and grind grass, as that the two sides of its lower jaw are not joined together, which also gives it a wide bite.
When does the kangaroo eat?
The kangaroo is generally a animal with nocturnal and crepuscular habits, which means that during the day it rests in the shade of trees and bushes, and sometimes even digs a shallow hole in the ground where they can lie down and cool off.
Therefore, the ideal time to move in search of food is at night and in the morning.
