Why Does the Kangaroo Have a Pouch?
Animals that have a pouch (and the kangaroo is only one of several animals like this) are called marsupials. The pouch that the kangaroo has, which is between her hindlegs, is about as snug and comfortable a little home as a new-born baby can have. It is fur-lined, keeps the baby warm, protects it, enables the baby to nurse, and provides transportation for the helpless infant. The reason a pouch is provided by nature for kangaroos and other marsupials is that their young are born in a very helpless state. In fact, at birth the kangaroo is a tiny, pink, naked mass, not much over 3 millimeters and as thick as a lead pencil! Can you imagine what would happen if such a helpless thing didnt immediately have a place to keep it warm, snug, and protected? The mother places the new-born baby in the pouch and for six months this is home. In six months, the young kangaroo is as large as a puppy. But life is too good in the pouch to leave home.
The kangaroo, now the national symbol of Australia, belongs to the group of mammals called marsupials, meaning “pouched.” Female kangaroos have a pouch, like a bag with an elastic top, in which they keep their young for eight to nine months after they are born. Marsupials are mammals; all female mammals give birth to living youn
