WEBVTT - How Do Kangaroos' Pouches Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff Lauren Vogubam Here from a Possums to

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<v Speaker 1>Koala's two bandicoots. Pouches are the bailiwick of marsupial child rearing,

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<v Speaker 1>and perhaps the most famous of pouched mama's though, is

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<v Speaker 1>the kangaroo. Kangaroos are native to Australia and New Guinea.

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<v Speaker 1>The kangaroo is so archetypally Australian that it graces the

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<v Speaker 1>country's coat of arms. A female kangaroo sports a big

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<v Speaker 1>pocket on her belly called a marsupium that's essential to

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<v Speaker 1>the nursing, protection and ferrying around her baby, called a joey.

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<v Speaker 1>Only female kangaroos have pouches. They do of the child rearing.

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<v Speaker 1>Kangaroos live in large groups called mobs, and the males

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<v Speaker 1>contribute by acting as bodyguards. Joey's live at least partially

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<v Speaker 1>in their mother's pouch for about eight months until the

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<v Speaker 1>joey is fast enough to keep up with the mob

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<v Speaker 1>When it runs. Kangaroos can run in leaping bounds upwards

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<v Speaker 1>of forty miles an hour that's sixty kilometers per hour

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<v Speaker 1>in short bursts Kangaroo pouches function exclusively as baby containers.

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<v Speaker 1>They're very warm inside about a hundred and five degrees

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<v Speaker 1>fahrenheit that's around forty celsius, and they contain four nipples.

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<v Speaker 1>The mother can use muscles to open or close it

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<v Speaker 1>like a draw string pouch, and the pouch is stretchy.

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<v Speaker 1>It can make space for two joeys of different ages

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<v Speaker 1>at the same time. A kangaroo can give birth to

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<v Speaker 1>up to four joeys per year. For the article this

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<v Speaker 1>episode is based on, has to Work, spoke with Katrina macaulay,

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<v Speaker 1>assistant curator in the Columbus zoon Aquariums Australia and the

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<v Speaker 1>Islands regions. She explained, normally, a kangaroo's pouch is dry,

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<v Speaker 1>lightly furred and has a dry, flaky, rusty brown colored

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<v Speaker 1>substance that is a naturally occurring antifungal in antibacterial substance.

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<v Speaker 1>The pouch is also essential for joey gest station. After birth.

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<v Speaker 1>The mother kangaroo gives birth vaginally to an unbelievably small

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<v Speaker 1>and underdevelop baby after just dating only about thirty three days.

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<v Speaker 1>The baby is pink, entirely hairless, and only about the

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<v Speaker 1>size of the nail on your pinky finger. It crawls

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<v Speaker 1>up its mother's stomach and into her pouch, where it

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<v Speaker 1>will remain for between four and a half and five months.

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<v Speaker 1>Mcaulay said when Joey's are first born, they attached to

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<v Speaker 1>one of the teats and fused to it until they're

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<v Speaker 1>more developed. Kangaroo females produce different milk compositions as their

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<v Speaker 1>Joey's age of plus, the females can produce two different

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<v Speaker 1>compositions of milk based on the ages of her young.

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<v Speaker 1>She explained that a female kangaroo can balance Joey's of

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<v Speaker 1>different ages this way, taking care of one that's out

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<v Speaker 1>of the pouch and mobile on its own but still

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<v Speaker 1>getting nutrients from her milk, and one that's still in

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<v Speaker 1>the pouch full time. A female kangaroo's body is in

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<v Speaker 1>tune with the supply and demand of food for Joey's.

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<v Speaker 1>Even if she only mates once a year and fertilizes

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<v Speaker 1>up to four eggs in one go, her body will

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<v Speaker 1>hold to those embryos until conditions are good. During times

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<v Speaker 1>of drought or low food supply, the dormant embryos can

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<v Speaker 1>bide their time when conditions improve. Her body will let

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<v Speaker 1>one implant, but can hold on to the rest until

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<v Speaker 1>the first joey is mobile. The kangaroo babies do everything

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<v Speaker 1>in the pouch, including use the bathroom, so it takes

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<v Speaker 1>a bit of housekeeping to keep it fresh and clean.

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<v Speaker 1>Mcaulay said, Oh, when a kangaroo is preparing to give birth,

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<v Speaker 1>we see an increase in females tending to their pouch.

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<v Speaker 1>We also see an increase in cleaning once a joey

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<v Speaker 1>is developed enough to come out of the pouch. In general,

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<v Speaker 1>we see them clean it when they are standing by

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<v Speaker 1>sticking their snout into the pouch. Today's episode is based

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<v Speaker 1>on the article What's it Like Inside of Kangar's Pouch

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<v Speaker 1>on house to forks dot com, written by Justlyn Shields.

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<v Speaker 1>Brainstuff is production of I Heart Radio in partnership with

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<v Speaker 1>house to forks dot com and is produced by Tyler Clang.

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