In representatives of some species of kangaroo, the weight of newborn cubs is only 500-750 milligrams, that is, almost 30,000 times less than that of the mother.
How kangaroo babies are born
According to zoological experts, a female kangaroo, whose growth is about one and a half meters, gives birth to a baby 2 centimeters long. Almost immediately after birth, a microscopic kangaroo must travel a long way to the mother's bag. For a long time, scientists could not figure out how the newborn manages to find the way there, because the female, at first glance, does nothing to help her baby. According to the observations of zoologists, the kangaroo, who became the mother, calmly lies on her back, only looking at her newborn cub. And the mother has the right to rest - even before giving birth, she did a lot of work: she carefully licked the surface of her abdomen. However, the movements of the tongue were quite deliberate - the mother diligently prepared a rather narrow strip, which will become a convenient path leading directly to the bag.
However, according to other sources, in some kangaroo species, the mother often helps her baby by gently pushing him towards the bag.
This path, diligently made by the mother, is practically sterile and by itself tells the baby the right way - sliding on wet wool, the baby, trying to crawl, may not be afraid to turn to the side. As soon as he turns off the right route, finds himself on dry fur, instinct will prompt him to return immediately - to the "slippery path", along which he will fall straight into his mother's bag.
Kangaroos are born blind and almost naked, their length at this moment is only 2 centimeters, and their weight is 1 gram. It should be noted that these are indicators for large species of kangaroos. The smallest representatives of this family of marsupials, the so-called arboreal kangaroos that live in trees, give birth to babies even smaller and lighter.
Development of kangaroos in the mother's bag
Having been born underdeveloped and not having the ability to suck independently, the kangaroos literally grow to the nipple after entering the mother's pouch. As a result, the end of the nipple swells quite strongly, filling the entire oral cavity of the baby. Thanks to the contractions of a special muscle that compresses the mother's mammary gland, milk begins to be injected directly into the kangaroo's mouth.
The baby will spend about eight months in the bag. According to zoologists observing these animals, quite often the baby stops feeding on milk and leaves his shelter only after the birth of a new cub.
Not so long ago it became known about the tragic incident in the Kaliningrad zoo, when a flock of stray dogs, having jumped over the fence at night, tore a kangaroo family to pieces. As a result of the emergency, 5 adult animals died. Only some time later, the menagerie experts were surprised and happy to find that there was a live baby in the bag of one of the females. No one imagined that there was a replenishment in the family of the dead kangaroos - the cub, whose age was about 3 months, was safely hidden in the mother's bag and only survived because of this.
