Thursday, August 1, 2019

Kangaroos, Wombats and the Platypus

My grandchildren, Ethan and Eleni, are in Australia.  Just this evening I received photos of them petting a kangaroo.  What a thrill for them—and for grandad, who has always wanted to see a kangaroo up close and “down under”. I never dreamed of petting one…but here are my grandchildren doing it!  Did you know that the record jump recorded by a kangaroo is 30 feet in a single leap?  Oh, what a grand adventure they are experiencing!  What a joy for me to vicariously experience it through them.  

Australia is the only continent to still have all three of the major groups of mammals:  monotremes (egg layers), marsupials and placentals.  It is the only country in the world to have kangaroos (though New Guinea has wallabies), koalas, wombats numbats, and the platypus.  The Platypus and Echidnas are the only two mammals in the world that lay eggs to give birth.  What a place to visit!  And my grandchildren are there!!





Kangaroos are a national icon in Australia.  There are an estimated 40 million of them throughout the country.  Did you know that Australia has a larger population of camels than Egypt!  




No comments:

Post a Comment