From Wikipedias

Reproduction and life cycle

Kangaroo reproduction is similar to that of opossums. The egg (still contained in the evolutionary remnant of a shell, a few microns thick, and with only a small quantity of yolk within it) descends from the ovary into the uterus. There it is fertilised and quickly develops into a neonate. Even in the largest kangaroo (the red kangaroo) the neonate emerges after only 33 days. Usually only one young is born at a time. It is blind, hairless and only a few centimetres long; its hind legs are mere buds but uses its better developed forelegs to haul its way through the thick fur on its mother's abdomen in to the pouch, which takes about three minutes. Once there, it fastens on to one of four teats and starts to feed. Almost immediately, the mother's sexual cycle starts again. Another egg descends into the uterus and she becomes sexually receptive. Then, if she mates and a second egg is fertilised, its development is temporarily halted. Meanwhile, the neonate in the pouch grows prodigiously. After 190 days, the baby (called a joey) is sufficiently large and independent to make its first foray out of the pouch. From then on it spends increasing time in the outside world and eventually, after 235 days, it leaves the pouch for the last time.

Posted By: Steve in Holland on February 11th 2009 at 15:49:13

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