How far can a kangaroo jump?

Kangaroo is one of the strangest and oldest species of four footed animals on the earth today. They are found in Australia and that is why Australia is often called the "land of the Kangaroos".

A few thousand years ago, there was a kind of kangaroo in existence which was nearly as large as a horse. The kangaroo is the best known of the 'marsupials', which means, "animals with pouches". A full grown kangaroo stands about six feet tall. Its front legs are short while the hind legs are very long. These powerful hind legs enable the kangaroo to take long jumps of 3 to 5 metres at a time. The kangaroo has a long tail of more than one metre. It uses its big tail to rest and to balance itself while jumping. If a hunter or a hunting dog chases a kangaroo, it runs very fast making long jumps. It can cover a distance of 7 to 9 metres just in one jump. When a kangaroo is cornered by hunting dogs, it can seize a dog with its forefeet and kill it with one swing of its hind feet. The female kangaroo has a pouch in its belly in between the hind legs in which it keeps its young ones till they grow up. When a baby kangaroo is born, it is a tiny pink, naked mass of about 2.5 cm in lengh and weight about 1 gram. Not only the infant kangaroo, but even younger kangaroos need the protection of their mothers. A kangaroo lives on the mother milk until it leaves the pouch at the age of 6 to 8 months. A kangaroo lives about 6 to 8 years. Finding the young ones in danger, the mother kangaroo lifts them by mouth and places them inside its pouch. The kangaroo is a meek animal like sheep and goats. Like the hare, it is unable to see an object just in front of it. But its power of smelling and hearing is quite strong.