Q 01/05

A newborn red kangaroo, which will spend some eight months in the pouch, is about the size of what?

A) A jellybean

B) A golf ball

C) A lemon

D) A hen's egg

Answer · why

A) A jellybean

A jellybean is about right: the blind, hairless newborn weighs roughly one gram, yet a full-grown male can top 90 kg.

Q 02/05

A red kangaroo holds up the shield on Australia's coat of arms alongside which flightless bird?

A) A kiwi

B) An emu

C) A cassowary

D) A penguin

Answer · why

B) An emu

An emu faces the red kangaroo across the shield, yet neither animal has ever been officially declared a national emblem of Australia.

Q 03/05

Young male red kangaroos settle rank by rearing up to jab and grapple, a ritual named after which sport?

A) Fencing

B) Judo

C) Boxing

D) Sumo

Answer · why

C) Boxing

Boxing bouts between red kangaroos involve more wrestling than those of other kangaroo species, and can escalate to kicks from the powerful hind legs.

Q 04/05

When moving slowly to feed, a red kangaroo plants which body part on the ground as a fifth limb?

A) Its snout

B) Its chest

C) Its knees

D) Its tail

Answer · why

D) Its tail

Its tail acts as a crutch: below about 6 km/h the animal props itself on it and its front paws while both hind legs swing forward together.

Q 05/05

A red kangaroo chased into a river or dam by a predator may use its front paws to do what?

A) Scratch at its eyes

B) Hold it underwater

C) Drag it ashore

D) Splash it away

Answer · why

B) Hold it underwater

Hold it underwater until it drowns: kangaroos often flee into waterways when a land predator threatens, then turn the tables on the pursuer.