Kangaroo pouches serve as the location where a developing young kangaroo grows from about the size of a kidney bean to its size when it can move about on its own. 

The kangaroo begins its life as a fertilized egg much as the same way as humans, but, as mentioned above, when the developing 'fetus' is the size of about a kidney bean, it migrates, through what is really a dangerous journey, from its mother's uterus to the pouch where it continues development. The young kangaroo will mature there, and it is often a humorous sight to see basically a fully developed small kangaroo riding in its mother's pouch. Learn more about amazing science facts via our articles.

Kangaroos are marsupials, belonging to the order _Marsupialia_ of the class _Mammalia_. All marsupials have pouches called marsupiums and do not have placentas like other mammals. 

Carrying the baby in the pouch is convenient for the female, who may travel many miles for fresh food and water. The youngster stands a greater chance of survival because it does not have to keep up with her. The baby is tucked away, safe from predators. 

Another incredible thing about kangaroos is that the mother (called a doe) can determine the sex of her babies. How she does this is unknown, but she tends to put off bearing males until she is older. Males move away after about two years, but females stay with their mothers longer and benefit from mother's help more. 

A doe is nearly always pregnant. All her life, she is rarely without three offspring—an embryo in the womb, a joey in her pouch, and a larger youngster at her heels. How much do you know about tiger facts for kids? Let’s check.

The joey is born after a gestation period of about 35 days (depending on the species) and in the largest species is the size of a human thumb nail. In the smallest, it is only the size of a rice grain. Naked, blind and deaf, it must make its way unaided from the birth canal to the pouch. 

All going well, the climb will take less than 10 minutes. The joey can survive only a few minutes unless it reaches the pouch and attaches to one of the four nipples. Once there, its mouth swells on the nipple so that it cannot be removed without injury. A ring of strong muscles, similar to human lips, seals off the opening to the pouch to protect the joey from bouncing out, and keeps the pouch waterproof if mother goes for a swim. 

After three months, the developed joey emerges from the pouch to make short trips in the outside world. However, it will return to the pouch to suckle and sleep until eight months old. Check out my list of fun, weird and just plain amazing fact of life I have found.

Fun information and facts about giraffe for kids

Fact #1

The giraffe is the tallest mammal on earth. New-born baby giraffes are even taller than mosthumans. And males can grow up to 5.5 meters (18 feet) tall.

Fact #2

The neck of a giraffes is too short to reach the ground. So it has to awkwardly spread its front legs or kneel to reach the ground for a drink of water.

A giraffe face

Fact #3

Like snowflakes and human fingerprints, no two giraffes have the same spot pattern.

Fact #4

Baby Giraffes can stand within half an hour of being born. After only 10 hours, they can actually run alongside their family.

A baby giraffe

Fact #5

Giraffes only need 5 to 30 minutes of sleep in a 24-hour period.

Fact #6

Giraffes only need to drink once every few days. Most of their water comes from plants they eat.

Fact #7

The idea that giraffes make no sound is untrue. When giraffes snort, bellow, hiss, etc, they make flute-like or low pitch noises beyond the range of human hearing.

Fact #8

Before mating, the female giraffe will first urinate in the male's mouth.

Giraffe couple in love

Fact #9

Giraffes are ruminants. This means that they have more than one stomach. In fact, giraffes have four stomachs, the extra stomachs assisting with digesting food.

Fact #10

Drinking is one of the most dangerous times for a giraffe. While it is getting a drink it cannot keep a look out for predators and is vulnerable to attack.

Fact #11

Male giraffes sometimes fight with their necks over female giraffes. This is called “necking”. The two giraffes stand side by side and one giraffe swings his head and neck, hitting his head against the other giraffe. Sometimes one giraffe is hit to the ground during a combat.

Fact #12

A giraffe's habitat is usually found in African savannas, grasslands or open woodlands.

Fact #13

The hair that makes up a giraffes tail is about 10 times thicker than the average strand of human hair.

Fact #14

Giraffes have a great sense of sight and smell and are able to run at speeds up to 35 miles per hour.

Fact #15

However, a baby giraffe in the wild is vulnerable because it has a shorter gait and is unable to keep up with the herd if a predator is detected. In the days and weeks following a birth, a mother giraffe will sometimes leave her baby hidden in tall grass for a few hours while she eats and roams.

1. It’s the world’s only flightless parrot. Kakapos can’t fly. They use their short wings for balance and support rather than flapping. Their feathers are much softer than those of other birds because they do not need to be strong and stiff enough to support flight.

2. Even though they can’t fly, they get around. The kakapo has strong legs that make it an excellent hiker and climber. On the ground, they move around with a jog-like gait. They can also climb tall trees and use their wings to help “parachute” to the forest floor. This might be one of the most amazing facts about animals ever seen

3. Kakapos freeze when startled. One of their defenses is to freeze and hope to blend into the background when danger is near. This worked well when their only predators were eagles that use sight to hunt; it is not so successful with introduced mammalian predators that rely on their sense of smell to find prey.

4. They’re nocturnal. Kakapos roost in trees or on the ground during the day and only become active at night.

5. They smell nice. The kakapo has a well-developed sense of smell, useful in its nocturnal lifestyle. It also has what’s described as a musty-sweet odor. This likely helps kakapos find each other in the forest; unfortunately, it helps introduced mammalian predators find them, too.

6. They’re friendly. Both the Māori and early European settlers kept kakapos as pets. Even wild kakapos are known to approach, climb on, and preen people. George Edward Grey, the English ornithologist who first described the kakapo in 1845, once wrote that his pet kakapo’s behavior towards him and his friends was “more like that of a dog than a bird.”

7. They’re critically endangered. The kakapo’s problems began with Māori settlers, and intensified when Europeans arrived. Both groups cleared large areas of the kakapo’s habitat and brought with them predators like cats, rats, and stoats that the kakapo had no defenses against. In the 1980s, the New Zealand Department of Conservation implemented a Kakapo Recovery Plan. The Plan involved the rounding up and relocation of kakapos to predator-free islands, setting up supplementary feeding stations for the birds, and sometimes artificial incubation of eggs and hand-raising of chicks. The effort has averted the kakapo’s extinction, but they are still critically endangered. As of early 2012, there were 126 kakapos in the wild. Let’s find out some interesting science facts that will make your day.

8. They’re possibly one of the longest-lived birds. Kakapos live life at a slow pace. Males don’t start breeding until they are about four years old, and females around six years of age. Their life expectancy is over 90 years.

9. Kakapos are sturdy birds. Unlike other land birds, the kakapo can store large amounts of energy as body fat. It’s the world’s heaviest parrot: at about 24 inches tall, it weighs between 4 and 9 lbs.

10. Males court females with a group song and dance. During the breeding season, male kakapos can walk up to 4 miles to reach a special arena where they compete with each other for the attention of females. Each male digs a bowl in the ground, often in an area next to rock faces or banks to help reflect his mating call. To attract females, the males emit loud, low-frequency “booms” that can travel as far as 3 miles. After 20-30 booms, they switch to a high-pitched metallic “ching.” The booming and chinging can go on for eight hours a night, every night for the duration of the 2-4 month breeding season.

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When researchers in a 2012 study in PLOS ONE analyzed the diets of 1264 women, they found that a higher consumption of olive oil (more than 8.4 grams or 2 teaspoons a day) was associated with 31% fewer signs of aging compared to people who ate less than 3.8 grams (about 1 teaspoon). Olive oil beat out the other oils tested, including sunflower and peanut. Why? About 75% of the fat in olive oil is monounsaturated fatty acids, which may play a role in the youth boost. The antioxidant polyphenols in olive oil could also quench damaging free radicals.

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