🇦🇺Australia·National Animal
🦘Red Kangaroo
On the coat of arms — and on every Qantas plane.
The Red Kangaroo is the largest marsupial on Earth and one of the two animals on Australia's coat of arms (the other is the emu). Both were chosen because neither can easily walk backwards — a deliberate metaphor for a nation moving forward.
Why this animal?
The coat of arms was granted in 1908 (revised 1912). Selecting native Australian animals — rather than European heraldic ones — was a statement of national identity for the still-young federation.
Things to know
- ·Red kangaroos can leap 30 feet in a single bound and cruise at 35 mph.
- ·A 'mob' of kangaroos can include 50 or more individuals.
- ·Joeys are born the size of a jellybean and crawl into the mother's pouch to finish developing.
- ·Females can pause an embryo's development if conditions are bad — the embryo waits in the uterus until things improve.
- ·Kangaroos can't sweat — they lick their forearms to cool down via evaporation.