Altogether Now!

For its entire life, a male kangaroo will continue to grow larger and stronger, although at a decelerating rate as they age. Their reputation as good boxers is also somewhat attributed to the fact that their forearms also grow longer and more muscular as they get older.

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Since kangaroos are indigenous to Australia, the first European explorers didn't know what they were. Upon inquiring to the Aboriginal peoples, the reponse was "Kangaroo," meaning, "I don't understand your question." This was mistaken for the animal's name which is how it is known today.

There are over 40 different species of kangaroo, ranging from the large Red Kangaroo to the smaller Wallaby.

Standing taller than a man and weighing as much as 85 kilos/190 pounds, the Red Kangaroo is the largest marsupial in the world.

Marsupials are mammals with external pouches in which their young develop. Baby kangaroos, called "Joeys," are about the size of a honeybee and helpless at birth. They climb into their mother's pouch immediately after they are born, where they will stay until they are ready to venture out into the world.

Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport was performed in time to a jumping windmill on "The Muppet Show."

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Play It 'Til You Turn Blue

A didgeridoo (didgeridu) is a musical intrument native to the Aboriginal peoples of Australia. A droning, wind instrument whose typical construction is from a long, hollow branch or stick.

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The common term for a didgeridoo player is "Puller." This name has risen because, as the aboriginies say, a white man sounds either silly, disgraceful or both when he attempts to play a didgeridoo. This is because he cannot "Pull Wind" as the aboriginies do and cause the instrument to drone on and on.

The didgeridoo is played by blowing into the tube in a similar fashion to blowing a trumpet. As a drone instrument, the didgeridoo only plays one note, but "color" can be added to the tone by changing the shape of the mouth while playing. This alters the relative strength of the intrument's natural harmonics, much in the way the human voice forms the sounds of different vowels.

David Blanasi is a didgeridoo master, tribal elder and ceremonial law man. His nickname "Bomb" comes from the way in which he plays the didgeridoo, descibed as "very hard, straight out, with no muckin' around."

A Kookaburra is a bird native to Eastern Australia. It's call, replicated in this song, resembles fiendish laughter.

The didgeridoo has also become a popular instrument with the Deadhead community as its drone is great for tripping out to. Just remember, the natives think you sound pretty pathetic. Perhaps you should put down their sacred instrument and fashion yourself a "doo-da-doo" with the cardboard tube from a roll of paper towels or wrapping paper.

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What Goes Around Is Coming Back And Haunting You

One of the world's strangest looking animals, the Platypus is often described as a living fossil due to its combination of mammalian and reptilian features and for an ancenstral lineage dating back about 110 million years.

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Platypus are one of the three extant species of the order Monotremata; warm-blooded, egg-laying mammals.

According to Aboriginal legend, the Platypus arose as the offspring of a female duck and a water-rat, explaining the inheritence of the "duckbill" and webbed feet combined with four legs and brown fur.

In describing the Platypus in 1799, British scientist Dr. George Shaw's initial reaction was that it was an elaborate hoax. He cut away at a pelt with scissors, expecting to find stitches attaching the bill to the skin.

Found only in Australia, the Platypus hunts primarily at night using electroreceptors in its bill to locate freshwater invertebrates such as shrimps, worms, yabbies, pea-shell mussels, aquatic insects, small frogs and fish eggs on which it feeds.

The Platypus is armed with a spur which can be used to inject a poison. Though not considered to be life-threatening to a healthy human, being spurred by a Platypus is particularly painful as the spurs are sharp and can be driven in with great force. Additionally, the poison triggers a severe pain reaction and can cause localized swelling.

Perhaps Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong was once spurred by a Platypus thus inspiring the song's title.

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And All Around The Night Sang Out

Cockatoos are large parrots, up to 15 inches in length and are quite common in Australia with habitat ranging from the outback to the cities.

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Types of Cockatoos include the Leadbeaters, Gang Gang, White-Tailed Black, Yellow-tailed Black, Palm and the more common Sulphur Crested Cockatoo.

Cockatoos have very strong big bent beaks which are used for breaking open nuts and seeds. Their natural diet consists of seed, nuts and fruit and they can quickly destroy cultivated crops. As a result, some Australian states consider them a pest animal and allow licensed culling.

They often form flocks which number in the hundreds, though they will split into smaller groups while feeding with some birds acting as sentry, alerting the others if danger approaches.

A popular pet and highly intelligent, Cockatoos can be trained to talk. Living for up to 50 years and requiring a good deal of attention, they are also more of a commitment than a dog or goldfish.

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We Were Hopping And Bopping

The Crocodilian order, which includes the Alligatoridae, Crocodylidae, and Gavialidae families, are the direct descendants of the Archosauria, which also included dinosaurs and other reptiles. Archosaurs ruled the reptile kingdom with their superior intelligence, leaving Crocodilians as today's most intelligent reptiles.

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As cultures have evolved in the presence of crocodiles, many myths about their activies and relationship with man have originated in various parts of the world.

In Malaysia, local lore states that a crocodile has a special stomach in which it hides the clothes of its victims.

In Sulawesi and parts of Australia, the crocodile is an ancestor to man and is treated with great deference.

An awesome predator, the Salt Water Crocodile is the world's largest reptile, capable of killing prey as large as cattle as well as humans.

This innate ability and immense power has made for many an exciting series on the Discovery Channel and the namesake of Paul Hogan's most popular role, Michael J. "Crocodile" "Mick" Dundee.

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