🦘 Kangaroo
Also known as: wallaby, Macropus
A marsupial that can produce two different milks at once from neighbouring teats, for an older and a younger joey.
Kangaroo is an Australian marsupial that moves by hopping on its strong hind legs. Kangaroos and other marsupials give birth to a tiny, almost embryonic young that finishes developing in the pouch on its mother’s milk. Their lactation is long — about 300 days in the tammar wallaby — and complex: the milk gradually changes from dilute and carbohydrate-rich to concentrated, high in fat and protein.
A remarkable feature of kangaroos and wallabies is asynchronous lactation. A female can feed a newborn in the pouch and an older young that already lives outside at the same time. The neighboring mammary glands work independently and produce different milk: thin and sweet for the baby, rich in fat and protein for the older one.
At the same time, a dormant embryo may be “waiting” in the uterus. That is why marsupials are studied as a model of how milk controls a young animal’s development.
How it connects to milk
🦘 Kangaroo → feeds → 🥛 Milk
Links
- Feeds with milk
- 🍼 Joey
- Belongs to
- 🔬 Mammal
- Feeds
- 🥛 Milk
- Part of
- 🐾 Other mammals
Frequently asked questions
Is it true that kangaroos produce two different milks?
Yes: from neighboring teats a female feeds thin milk to the baby in the pouch and rich milk to the older young at the same time.
How long do kangaroos lactate?
About a year: in the tammar wallaby, roughly 300 days.
How does a joey drink milk in the pouch?
It attaches to a teat and does not let go for a long time, receiving milk in small amounts.
Similar
Sources
- Sharp et al. The tammar wallaby: a marsupial model to examine the timed delivery and role of bioactives in milk. Gen Comp Endocrinol, 2017
- Nicholas. Asynchronous dual lactation in a marsupial, the tammar wallaby. Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 1988