If you’re a fan of geography or history, then you would know that Australia and Papua was one massive land once called Sahul. Around 8,000 years ago, rising sea levels caused the land to split into Australia and Papua as we know today. That’s why there’s a lot of similarities between the two lands, including the famous kangaroo. But are Australian and Papuan kangaroos the same? Let’s find out.
Australian Kangaroo’s Characteristics
The first major characteristic of the Australian kangaroos is their big body. Not only that, they are also strong and fast. Because they have such long and powerful legs, an adult Australian kangaroo could achieve the speed of 60 km/h and could jump over eight meters in a single leap.
In Australia itself, there are four different species of kangaroo which are red kangaroo, antilopine kangaroo, and eastern and western grey kangaroo. The red kangaroo is the biggest one in Australia and probably the one that you imagine when you heard the word ‘kangaroo’.
Just like all marsupials, Australian kangaroos have the famous pouch where a female kangaroo would raise its joey. Each female kangaroo usually only has one offspring every year. But they could such an amazing process called ‘embryonic diapause’ where they delay embryo implantation until their previous joey is old enough to leave the pouch.
Kangaroos are most active during sunrise and before sunset. These are the times when they’re usually looking for food such as grass, leaves, flowers, fruits, even moss. Just like cows, kangaroos are ruminant animals, which means they have separate rooms in their stomach for maximizing the nutrients intake.
Papuan Kangaroos Characteristics
Most people think that kangaroos only exist in Australia. But in the island of Papua, where it’s shared between two countries, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, there are also kangaroos. But unlike their bigger and stronger cousins, Papuan kangaroos are significantly smaller.
The diversity of kangaroo is richer in Papua. There are six species of tree kangaroos and two of land kangaroos. Tree kangaroos, just like their name, spend most of their time on trees. But they would occasionally come down to do certain things such as drinking. They have rather a pointy snout, thick fur, and a long tail.
The two species of land kangaroos are dusky pademelon and red-legged pademelon. They are the smallest type of kangaroo in the world. Their length is only about 90 centimeters and their weight is between three to six kilograms even though some could be as heavy as 10 kilograms.
Adaptation to Survive
They difference between Australian and Papuan kangaroos are primarily caused by their environment. Australian kangaroos developed the ability to jump far and fast because of the open environment. While Papuan kangaroos have smaller bodies to become more agile and make sure they can survive in a rainforest.
In conclusion, the Australian and Papuan kangaroos are not the same even though they’re still related. This shows how 8,000 years of separation between the same species could lead into really distinctive characteristics and even behaviors. Nature is amazing, isn’t it?
