Its aboriginal meaning is literally, “I don’t know.” The story is that Captain James Cook was exploring the land and saw one of the creatures. He asked a local what it was but since he didn’t understand what the Captain was saying, he said, “Kangaroo.” And the rest is history.

On the way back from the Blue Mountains and Jenolan Caves, our tour guide decided to make a detour to an area where he knew there would be a high chance that we’d see some kangaroos in the wild. You would never guess where it was. A playground. It seems as though the kangaroos have made that their habitat, and we were lucky enough to have been invited into their homes. When we showed up, they weren’t scared of us at all; keeping in mind that you have to approach them slowly and quietly. If you make any sudden movements, they’ll hop away. You have to bend/crouch down so that you’re eye level with them. Otherwise, they’ll think that you’re trying to fight them for their territory and you do not want that.

I’m sure you already know that a baby kangaroo is called a joey, but here are some other interesting facts about the marsupial:

• A group of kangaroos is called a mob, herd, or a troop. Each mob can only be led by one male kangaroo. If there is more than one, they will fight for dominance – like this.
• Kangaroos cannot walk backwards. That’s why Australia chose it to represent their coat of arms – to symbolize progress.
• Mama kangaroos can produce three different kinds of milk in order to meet the needs of their joeys during its various stages of life.
• There are more kangaroos than humans in Australia. So don’t feel bad about eating them if you see them on a menu. It tastes like beef! Maybe even better than beef – the meat is really tender.