Difference Between

Male vs Female Kangaroo

Kangaroo is the iconic species of Australia as they are exclusively found there. They are the largest marsupials in body size and well adapted to dry Australian deserts. Apart from that, males and females of this fascinating species are different from each other in few aspects. Anatomy and physiology are major aspects for distinguishing the two sexes, while reproductive behaviours are equally important and different between males and females.

Male Kangaroo

A male kangaroo is called either as a Buck or a Boomer or an Old Man. They are tall and stout; a well-built adult buck could weigh up to 95 kilograms with a height of more than two metres. Their sexual behaviours are interesting. When female comes to heat, male monitors the female and follows all of her movements. Flehman reaction, which is a sexual action that male performs by sniffing the female’s urine to confirm that the female is in heat. During this period, bucks slowly gets close and try to show off with certain things to get her attraction. No reluctance in female demonstrates her interest on the buck. The strong large males can create a stronger bond with females than a thin week one would do. Bucks fight with each other mostly for females, as well as for food and water. In the presence of an attractive female in heat, the bucks fight by means of show off, or for competition for females.

Female Kangaroo

Females are called either as a Doe or a Flyer or a Jill. They stand taller than a man (almost two metres) with a weight of about 85 kilograms. Female kangaroo delivers usually only one neonate called Joey annually. Joey remains inside mother’s pouch for about 190 days and after that, it sticks its head out of the pouch. During all this time, Joey keeps sucking milk that oozes out of teats, inside the pouch, for its development. Usually, a female becomes ready to mate soon after the neonate is delivered into the pouch. Thus, it is said that female kangaroo are ever pregnant. While one Joey is ready to come out of the pouch, there is another neonate being developed inside. Therefore, the females are always lactating. However, a Joey will be ready to go out after about 235 days from the delivery. This extremely specialized form of parental care is not seen in any other mammalian species.

What’s the difference between Male and Female Kangaroo?

Both males and females can gain hopping speeds up to 70 kilometres per hour. Their hind legs and the strong tail are instrumental in hopping creating a great advantage of escaping from predators. Males are slightly larger in size (both height and weight) than females. Females urinate in order to communicate about their receptiveness for sexual mating, while males confirm it through flehman behaviours. The most contrasting difference between them is the presence of pouch in females but not in males. Additionally, the most obvious difference between a Buck and a Doe is the reproductive systems and hence the hormones. Also the females are ever pregnant and more often they are lactating.