National Geographic: Kangaroo Comeback Page #4

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place up here

but tree kangaroos are very acrobatic

They can make spectacular leaps

of 20 feet from limb to limb

and can safely catapult 60 feet

down if startled

Remarkably, another kind of

kangaroo has also

taken to life in the treetops

This is Lumholtz's tree kangaroo

and like their ground-based cousins

Mother and joey are quite affectionate

As they walk, they move their hind

legs independently

something most 'roos don't do

But nothing compares to big reds

in the desert

where the hop still reigns supreme

Joey's quickly approaching

his mother's size

Her younger joey has recently started

taking his first peak at the world

and will soon outstrip his brother

in the quest for Mother's attention

Joey must now look after himself

and begin mixing it up with other

young males

Right on schedule

he has taken an interest in jousting

Tentatively, he approaches the fray

And while his mother looks on

he gets into his first dust-up

Joey is beginning to look the part

He has all the makings of a big red

Turning adversity into advantage

the red kangaroo has flourished

even as its kangaroo cousins

have struggled or disappeared altogether

This pouch-raised powerhouse is

a marvel of natural engineering

It inherited the harsh expanse

of Australia's desert

and made the landscape its own

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