Talk:Kangaroo

Common myth?

Kangaroos or kangaroo are one of the rare few that keep their baby's for more than 2 years. Is there a reason for this section to be so prominent, or exist at all? There is no reference for this myth, nor that it is common. The writing also seems more like a parable than an encyclopedia. I think that the article would be stronger without this paragraph.Bob98133 (talk) 04:33, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Are you talking about the 'kangaroo'-'I don't understand' myth? Ashmoo (talk) 13:32, 27 November 2008 (UTC)

Sorry if it wasn't clear. It's this section in Terminology that seems odd:

A common myth about the kangaroo's English name is that it came from the Aboriginal words for "I don't understand you." According to this legend, Captain James Cook and naturalist Sir Joseph Banks were exploring Australia when they happened upon the animal. They asked a nearby local what the creatures were called. The local responded "Kangaroo", meaning "I don't understand you", which Cook took to be the name of the creature. In 1892, the "Kangaroo" story was connected to the 1808 poem Mounseer Nongtongpaw, where the character John Bull refusal to learn French led him to believe that the French "Monsieur, je vous n'entends pas" ("Monsieur, I don't understand you") was pronounced "Mounseer Nongtongpaw" and that Mounseer Nongtongpaw was a mysterious beautiful woman.[9] The Kangaroo myth was debunked in the 1970s by linguist John B. Haviland.[10]

I think the article would be better without it. Bob98133 (talk) 14:41, 27 November 2008 (UTC)

Well I have heard the story told many times and a quick google of 'Kangaroo' and 'I don't understand' will bring up many pages that repeat the myth as fact (as well as debunking sites). However, you are correct that the story as it stands in the article in not well sourced. Ashmoo (talk) 16:03, 27 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, Ashmoo - your rewrite is much more concise. Bob98133 (talk) 01:29, 28 November 2008 (UTC)

Species

Macropus giganteus tasmaniensis (Forester Kangaroo)is recognised as the Tasmanian subspecies of the Eastern Grey Kangaroo. [1] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 118.208.240.149 (talk) 10:02, 7 January 2011 (UTC)

Italian version

The italian version of this article is here. http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canguro

Main article is semi protected, so I don't edit it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by DanieleMinciaroni (talk • contribs) 15:25, 30 December 2008 (UTC) yep —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.132.104.70 (talk) 15:44, 29 January 2009 (UTC)

farting unimportant?

The section ' Absence of digestive methane release' seems highly specialised for this article, especially after only two paragrpahs on digestion. Any expert comment? Earthlyreason (talk) 14:50, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

Geographic or political locale

Should the sentence "Kangaroos are endemic to the continent of Australia, while the smaller macropods are found in Australia and New Guinea." be corrected to something like "Kangaroos are endemic to the Australian mainland and island of Tasmania, while smaller macropods are found across the Australian continent including the island of New Guinea." 122.106.228.67 (talk) 22:23, 9 February 2009 (UTC)

Adaptions

I think that maybe this section could be split up into two sections. The first part would be for the babies and the second part would be for the legs. 65.35.190.8 (talk) 15:38, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

kiana loves kangaroos —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.195.103.228 (talk) 03:51, 9 July 2009 (UTC)

Just curious.... My two visits to Australia (near Alice Springs) have been during Summer (or now near Summer). I've seen lots of Kangaroos and night, but not during the day. Is this just a seasonal occurrence (Kangaroo's don't like being out in the heat), or is it a normal aspect of their behavior? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.39.27.237 (talk) 21:09, 2 November 2009 (UTC)

Vocalizations

I think a sentence on and a sample of kangaroo vocalizations should be added. Why is this page locked? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.24.17.102 (talk) 12:59, 13 July 2009 (UTC)

Kangaroos make a grunting noise when stressed or as a warning. Wildlife carers refer to a mother's call to her joey as a "double click", which when we the carers do it, is produced in the back of the throat. TerrellaWildlife (talk) 21:40, 6 November 2009 (UTC) Terrella Wildlife.

Biomechanics of hopping

There is an interesting section on the biomechanics of hopping in the book Life of Marsupials, p. 308-311.[2] GregorB (talk) 20:07, 17 July 2009 (UTC)

LuLu

An interesting story, or really headline "In 2003, Lulu, an Eastern Grey, saved a farmer's life. She received the RSPCA National Animal Valor Award on May 19 of the next year.". But two of the three sources expired, and one does not load(Or takes an inane amount of time to load). Unless there is some hard evidence, preferably permanent, this isn't any more than a fanciful children's story.

I'm not saying it isn't possible but some real evidence would be appropriate.Aryeonos (talk) 18:59, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

As an Australian, I still have vivid memories of all the media attention this story garnered at the time. It's definitely more than a fanciful children's story. I have updated the links to go to unexpired sources. Hope that helps. Lainem499 (talk) 00:50, 10 January 2010 (UTC)

All links to articles about this are currently working. I have also now added a further reference regarding this.

Please change "falling" to "fallen" [tree branch]. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.92.14.172 (talk) 13:50, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

Actually, 'falling' is the correct word to use in this case (the branch was 'in motion in mid air' when it hit the farmer), and should not be changed. It is a 'point of grammar'. Figaro (talk) 14:27, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Three vaginas

I just heard on QI (Quite Interesting) that the kangaroo genitalia are quite intersting indeed ; apparently the female has three vaginas, one of which serves no apparent purpose, and the male has a sort of split penis. I'm very surprised not to find information about this sort of thing on wikipedia ;-) 85.28.87.67 (talk) 21:51, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Thats cause its rubbish. Females have 1 vagina in the cloaca and the males have 1 penis in the cloaca. ZooPro 00:42, 24 October 2009 (UTC)

Close. Yes, its true the male has a single, not split penis (its the Thylacine that has a split penis). However, the female has two vagina's. It doesn't give birth through either of them as a seperate birth canal develops when the female gives birth. Granted, it is not a vagina, however, the female does have two vagina's, both of which enter into the cloaca. This is an ancient system that can also be seen in reptiles today (evidently the kangaroo was to lazy to evolve out of it). Hitthat (talk) 21:09, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

Taxobox

There was a {{taxobox}} in this article, 'kangaroo' is a common name that does not refer to a single taxon. cygnis insignis 06:43, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Hand-rearing

Unfurred joeys can also be saved but the success rate is lower. Very young joeys, those whose eyes are still closed, benefit greatly from being raised in a humidi-crib. After feeding the joey must be stimulated to urinate and defecate. The weaning age for species vary. Eastern Grey Kangaroos, for example, are weaned at approximately 18 months of age. Joeys that have been hand-reared can be released back in to the wild, the longer they are care the more necessary it is to use a soft release programme. In some states of Australia the law indicates that all wildlife must be returned to the wild. Individual states and territories also have laws pertaining to the legalities and licencing of wildlife carers. TerrellaWildlife (talk) 22:23, 6 November 2009 (UTC)

Not really sure what you are actually asking/discussing, are you wanting to insert this into the article? ZooPro 06:05, 7 November 2009 (UTC)

attacks

The page on attacks was deleted again even though it was greatly improved from the version nominated for deletion. There are enough stories reported in the media for a separate article. See: User:James4750/Kangaroo attacks in Australia James4750 (talk) 07:11, 13 December 2009 (UTC)

Transfer

Since "kangaroo" is a not taxon. Shouldn't much of the information on this page be tranfered to the Macropod article or to the articles on the individual species? Bobisbob2 (talk) 17:27, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

No Kangaroos are not the only Macropods, There are Wallabys, Tree-kangaroos and Pademelons, they each have their own article. Its like Big Cat and then the individual articles Tiger, Jaguar, Lion and Leopard, it also has Panthera. ZooPro 23:11, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

But can't much of the info here be used to describes other Macropods? Also the Big Cat article is much shorter than the feline one. Shouldn't it be the same here? Bobisbob2 (talk) 04:00, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Yes the info from here can be transfered no problems at all as long as we keep this page intact also. The Big cat article only covers 4 cats, the feline article covers all the cats so i will assume you were refering to Panthera instead, the lengh merely indicates the effort editors have put into the article. WikiProject Mammals will in 2010 be extending the big cat article. ZooPro 04:26, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Having had a look at the all those articles they are all about the same size in information.ZooPro 04:29, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

How do you know? I went there and they are still on choosing the article for April 2009. Bobisbob2 (talk) 02:16, 1 January 2010 (UTC)

I am the Coordinator of the Project, and yes that error is being dealt with. We are having alot of issues as the Project has only just been re-activated in the past few months.ZooPro 02:53, 1 January 2010 (UTC)

Edit request from 87.205.205.106, 8 April 2010

{{editsemiprotected}} I belive that in this sentence "Larger kangaroos have adapted much better to changes wrought to the Australian landscape by humans and though many of their smaller cousins are endangered, they are plentiful." there is a spelling mistake - the word "wrought" should be changed to "brought"

87.205.205.106 (talk) 18:11, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

Done Welcome and thanks for contributing. I think the original author may have meant 'wrought' but 'brought' certainly gets the idea across equally well and is less archaic. Thanks, Celestra (talk) 18:45, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

Edit request from 12.187.40.66, 1 June 2010

{{editsemiprotected}}

12.187.40.66 (talk) 19:39, 1 June 2010 (UTC) A kangaroo is a small fish that is indigenous to South Africa

Not done: That should be covered at Kangaroo (disambiguation), via it's own article. Also, you do not have any reliable sources. -- /MWOAP|Notify Me\ 20:37, 1 June 2010 (UTC)

Taxobox

This article needs a taxobox added like most of the other organism articles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxobox#Taxoboxes Andrew Colvin • Talk 05:16, 31 July 2010 (UTC)

Ancient History of the Kangaroo

After doing a little bit of research and have found out some information about kangaroo ancestors. The following is a quote from this Howstuffworks article from their website-

"Fossil evidence dating back 25 million years has revealed that kangaroo ancestors did not hop [source: The Daily Telegraph]. At that time, rainforests covered most of Australia, and the predecessors most likely fed from fruits and leaves and could climb trees [source: The Daily Telegraph]. One existing species, the tree kangaroo, still inhabits parts of the rainforests in Papua New Guinea. As the continent's climate heated up, the rainforests gave way to dry, grassy plains, guiding the roos to their current terrestrial existence."

I think this information should be added into the article. Thanks. Motorturnaroo (talk) 04:59, 4 August 2010 (UTC)

Italian hyperlink

In the list of articles in other languages on the left, could someone competent add the link to Italian, which is missing. Thanks a millionCampolongo (talk) 12:09, 14 November 2010 (UTC)

Edit request from Patwoods, 18 November 2010

{{edit semi-protected}}

Under 'Behaviour', delete: 'Because of its long feet, it cannot walk correctly.'

Comment: The kangaroo walks correctly for a kangaroo. The sentence is redundant, incorrect, and unscientific; its deletion leaves the sense of the paragraph more sensible but otherwise unchanged.

Patwoods (talk) 03:24, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

Y Done, Kind regards ZooPro 06:17, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

Tim Flannery (2007): Chasing Kangaroos

Should Tim Flannery (2007): Chasing Kangaroos: A Continent, a Scientist, and a Search for the World's Most Extraordinary Creature. (ISBN 978-0802118523) be included in the refs.? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.130.153.43 (talk) 17:31, 22 January 2011 (UTC)

Kangaroo life expectancy

The page lists kangaroo life expectancy to be 6 years, citing a .com source with no educational background.

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Macropus_rufus.html

The page lists Red Kangaroos having a life expectancy of 22 years.

http://people.hws.edu/fieldguide/show.asp?ID=95

The page lists Grey Kangaroos having a life expectancy of 18 years.

I propose a life expectancy table or reference be made to several kangaroos: Red, Grey and smaller kangaroo species. Insane Kangaroo (talk) 09:42, 20 February 2011 (UTC)

Correction on Kangaroo's - Not all Marsupials have a Pouch

The wiki page says: "Like all marsupials, female kangaroos have a pouch called a marsupium in which joeys complete postnatal development." Not all marsupials have a pouch. Marsupial is an animals that gives premature birth. We see many marsupials not have a pouch. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ks18 (talk • contribs) 00:43, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

Description: last paragraph, last sentence: "Like all marsupials, female kangaroos have a pouch..."

I have to agree that not all marsupials have a pouch. Dasyuridae says, "Similarly, many species lack a full marsupial pouch, instead having a simple fold of skin...". Britannica Online says, "Although prominent in many species, it is not a universal feature...". Could this article be rewritten to, "Like the majority of marsupials,..."? 71.234.215.133 (talk) 22:29, 25 April 2011 (UTC)

Done I've changed it to the simpler "Like most marsupials,..." Adrian J. Hunter^{(talk•contribs)} 11:24, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

Edit request: spelling

{{edit semi-protected}}

1. Biology and behaviour --> Social and sexual behavior: Pick a spelling for "behaviour", either with or without the -u, then stick with it.
2. Biology and behaviour --> Social and sexual behavior --> para 2, line 4: "He stiffs her urine...". That should read "He sniffs her urine...". 71.234.215.133 (talk) 15:48, 14 April 2011 (UTC)

Spelling has been fixed. Bidgee (talk) 15:55, 14 April 2011 (UTC)

Should be Australian English behaviour for per MOS:ENGVAR. Adrian J. Hunter^{(talk•contribs)}

Edit request: Four Nipples

I have found several sources, both in print and online, that say female kangaroos have four nipples. I would suggests changing the "Reproduction and life cycle" section to reflect this fact. User:lzbthpwrs 1:23, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

Fixed, thanks. The cited source said four nipples. Adrian J. Hunter^{(talk•contribs)} 11:24, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

Edit request: Parasites and pests

Is anyone able to add a section about the parasites and pests that live in and on kangaroos? Captainbeefart (talk) 14:31, 2 August 2011 (UTC)

Semi-protection back up

Per a request at RFPP a while ago, I tried dropping the semi-protection on this article; since basically every non-confirmed edit since then has been vandalism, and there's been a fair amount of it, I've re-added indefinite semi-protection. Qwyrxian (talk) 04:51, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

Section on side-effects of harvesting unreferenced - reference does not link to cited document.

The section 4.1 on side-effects of harvesting has a footnote, but it appears to be a made-up document. The website it links to does not contain or link to the cited document. I am a researcher in this area and have never come across any evidence for these effects - indeed, a lot of studies have concluded there is unlikely to be any genetic impact of kangaroo harvesting, given the level at which it is carried out and the fact that there are harvest refuges across the landscape. I suspect this paragraph is mischievous, and it certainly should be removed if whoever wrote it cannot supply a genuine reference to support these claims.— Preceding unsigned comment added by Phasmobranch (talk • contribs)

I checked the reference, and agree that it makes none of the claims that were in that paragraph. I have removed the entire paragraph from the article. Thank you for catching that. Should someone find a reliable source that actually makes those claims, then we could consider re-adding it. Qwyrxian (talk) 08:47, 12 December 2011 (UTC)