kangaroos live most of their lives in a mob because they are very social. Although some mobs have only 3 or 4 members, others can have as many as 100.

There are more kangaroos in Australia than there are people.

A red kangaroo can reach speeds of over 35 miles an hour. Their bounding gait allows them to cover 25 feet in a single leap and jump up to 6 feet high.

Different species of kangaroos have different diets, but all true kangaroos are strict herbivores, eating mostly grass and shrubs. Smaller species of kangaroos also consume hypogeal fungi.

Male kangaroos are called bucks, boomers, jacks, or old men; females are does, flyers, or jills, and the young ones are joeys.

Scientists previously thought kangaroos used their tails for balance or support as they walked, but new research shows they use their tails like an extra leg to propel themselves. In fact, the tail provides more power to help them move than their front and hind legs combined.

A newborn kangaroo is about 1 inch in length--approximately the size of a lima bean. Still essentially a fetus, the newborn "swims" through its mother's fur to reach her pouch where it where it will remain for 7 to 8 months.

There are four species of kangaroo: the Red, Antilopine, Eastern Grey and Western Grey Kangaroo.

The average life span of a kangaroo in the wild is about six years, but they can live in excess of 20 years in captivity.

Because of their unusually shaped hind legs and bulky tails which can grow up to four feet long, kangaroos can't hop backwards, making them the perfect symbol for a country moving "forward."