The word ‘kangaroo’ originates from the Aboriginal Australian language, Guugu Yimihirr, where it is called a gangurru. When Captain James Cook and his team first sighted a joey peeking from its mother’s pouch, they erroneously thought kangaroos were two-headed animals. Over time we’ve gained a better understanding of these impressive animals and now label them with particular names – baby kangaroos are called joeys, adult males are known as boomers, and adult females are referred to as flyers. Kangaroos, found exclusively in Australia, Tasmania, and Papua New Guinea, have become a noteworthy symbol of Australia, so much so that they feature on the nation’s currency, commercial products and even the Royal Australian Air Force.
These are truly fascinating and bizarre animals and, in this list, we dig into some of the strangest kangaroo facts you could imagine – or couldn’t. Some of these facts are so bizarre they seem as though they began in an eight-year-old’s imagination. (For instance, once a female reaches sexual maturity, she will almost always be pregnant, holding one embryo in her uterus, a fetus in her pouch, and a growing joey outside of the pouch.) Though there are many different kinds of kangaroos (see #12), in this list, we focus on the larger, more well-known kangaroos seen on most nature documentaries and Aussie kids’ coloring books. Be prepared to be shocked and amazed by this list of 25 Outrageous Kangaroo Facts To Keep Your Mind Hopping.