RIDGE RUNNER CHRONICLES: Mother’s Day and the Red Kangaroo

By Editor | May 13, 2026 |

By BILL HOAGLAND

This is a column about red kangaroos but it is actually being written to celebrate Mother’s Day, believe it or not, which I will explain in a minute. But first, let’s get some introductions out of the way. The red kangaroo, technically referred to as “macros rufus”, is the world’s largest marsupial and is indigenous to Australia, where exposure to extreme weather conditions has caused these creatures to evolve into a remarkable animal. The adult male is referred to as a “buck,” the adult female is referred to as a “flyer” or “doe,” the young kangaroo is a “joey” and a group or herd of red kangaroos is, oddly enough, referred to as a “mob.” The adult male can weigh as much as 150 pounds, be as tall as six feet, and with those powerful hind legs, can sometimes jump 25 feet in one leap and run as fast as 20 miles per hour. The adult female is usually about three or four feet tall and generally grey rather than red in color. The most unique physical feature for the adult female is the pouch on her abdomen, where she carries her offspring until they are mature enough to permanently leave the pouch and fend for themselves.
Motherhood for the red kangaroo is unique because of the harsh environment of the Australian Outback. The female gives birth to an embryo only one month after conception. Within several minutes after birth, this baby, roughly the size of a human fingernail but already equipped with strong forearms and claws, will crawl from the womb up his mother’s abdomen and into her pouch. This pouch is the perfect spot to raise a newborn. It is warm, with the average temperature inside the pouch being about 105 degrees Farhrenheit. It has been “sanitized” because prior to birth, the mother secreted anti-fungal and anti-bacterial fluids in the pouch to keep things clean. And best of all, there are usually about four nipples inside the pouch. Several of these nipples dispense what is essentially low fat milk for the new joey, and the other nipples dispense milk having a higher fat content for that older joey who has now permanently left the pouch but comes back for occasional nurishment.
The newborn joey immediately attaches to one of the low fat nipples and will remain attached to that nipple for about 120 days. This unrelenting attachment helps secure this joey inside the pouch as his mother bounces around the prairie. Shortly thereafter, this young joey will stick his head out of the pouch for the first time, but will remain inside the pouch for roughly another month before finally venturing out—usually by falling out—for the first time. (Eventually, that joey will learn how to somersault back into the pouch with his mother holding the pouch open for him). Once joey is routinely out of the pouch during the day, his mother will be teaching joey how to survive on his own.
Within three days after giving birth to a newborn joey, the mother starts breeding again. Even though conception occurs shortly thereafter, the mother is able to delay another birth until she is physically ready to go through the process again, at which time her hormones will trigger things to move ahead. This unique ability to defer birth after conception until she is ready is referred to as “embryonic diapause” and is just another example of the red kangaroo’s evolutionary responses to a very severe environment.
As busy as the red kangaroo female is in all of this remarkable birthing and nurturing for her babies, it does not compare to the nurturing that our own mothers provide for us, sometimes over an entire lifetime. So thanks to all moms out there and Happy Mother’s Day!
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■ Bill Hoagland has practiced law in Alton for more than 50 years, but he has spent more than 70 years hunting, fishing and generally being in the great outdoors. His wife, Annie, shares his love of the outdoor life. Much of their spare time is spent on their farm in Calhoun County. Bill can be reached at [email protected].