Kangaroos are just the best Mothers!Kangaroos can breed all year round and have a gestation period of 30 days. A female kangaroo can nurture three dependent joeys at the same time. “Joey” is another name for a baby kangaroo or wallaby. However, reproduction is minimised in drought or poor conditions. While kangaroos breed more profusely in favourable conditions, rates of infant mortality can be very high. If the mother is shot, often three joeys die as well.
If the Mother kangaroo has an older “in pouch” joey, the mother tips out the youngster just before the new joey is born. The older joey is now ready to live outside the pouch, but is still dependent on his Mum, for milk, comfort, and tuition. Like many teenagers, the joey still reluctant to leave the comfortable home, in this case, the pouch! The joey will stay close to its mother, as it is still very dependent on her. It is now called “young at foot” or “ex-pouch”.
The mother then cleans out the pouch and prepares to give birth. She adopts a crouching position. The new joey emerges from near the tail region and climbs upwards towards the pouch. Swimming up through the fur with its forearms, it reaches the pouch in three or four minutes and falls in. Within seconds the tiny joey has attached itself to a nipple and starts feeding. Depending on species, the naked and helpless new joey will stay attached to the nipple for around five months.
While in the pouch, the new joey will be suckling on a different milk mix to the young joey at foot. The ability to produce two different milks at one time is believed to be unique to macropods. Kangaroo mothers also have the ability to adjust the strength and composition of the milk as the joeys mature.
Eventually, the new joey pokes its head out and takes its first look at the world. From about seven to eleven months after birth, depending on the species, the joey will take its first steps into the world. Usually it falls out accidentally the first time while reaching down to nibble grass, or Mum sometimes tips it out in sheer frustration, or because she is about to give birth again. Gradually the joey will spend longer out of the pouch but is always ready to dive back in at the first sign of alarm. As it becomes more daring, the joey will make a furious hopping circle around it’s mother, similar to a frisky lamb or calf. When it suddenly realises how daring it has been, the joey sits still for a few seconds before diving back in the pouch ‘just in case’. Actually life for an in-pouch joey is pretty good. In cold or rainy weather it can snuggle down into the pouch. If it gets hot, it can let itself fall halfway out of the pouch and get some cool breezes. When its mother leans over to nibble some grass, it can put its head out and have a nibble too. And if the joey is tired, or life gets too complicated, it can have a drink and go to sleep.
A female kangaroo may have one dependent joey at foot, one in her pouch and another on the way. The mother can abort or “hold back” a joey in drought conditions and can even pre-determine the sex of her baby. The joey stays in its mother’s pouch for around seven to ten months, then gradually moves out. However the joey will often stay with its mother until it is up to 2 years old, still suckling but eventually becoming independent.
Female kangaroos are amongst the best of mothers and this is shown through the loving care they take of their joeys. Anyone who has observed kangaroos notices immediately the strong bond betweeen mother and joey.There have been some reports of kangaroos under threat, or being chased by a dog, throwing the joey from the pouch as a sacrifice. Actually nothing could be further from the truth. If a joey did leave the pouch when the mother was under threat, the joey would hide, knowing his Mum would be back for him, if she could. There have been some eyewitness reports of a small joey falling from the pouch, when the mother is being chased. Most experts agree that in that case it would be an accident, rather than deliberate. The saddest thing is to see an ex-pouch joey, standing next to his road-killed mother. He or she just doesn't understand why Mum doesn't get up and talk with her grunts and wheezes. Often the waiting and confused joey will get run over too, sometimes deliberately. Wildlife carers often try to catch these joeys, but they usually flee, to die later of exposure and thirst.
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