Never try to fight a kangaroo!

Who is the most popular animal in the world? Without a doubt, it is this kangaroo below.

Its name is Gangzi, a red kangaroo that appeared in the movie "Lone Moon". It is greedy and irritable, and has strong muscles that are envied by countless people who lift weights in the gym. It has super fighting power and can beat Shen Teng black and blue almost every time.

Image source: "Alone on the Moon" movie trailer

If you have watched this movie, I guess you must have the same curiosity:

Is the scene in the movie where the kangaroo kicks Shen Teng away an exaggeration or is it true? In real life, who would have the upper hand if a human and a red kangaroo fought?

The answer is...

We will keep you in suspense for now and introduce the red kangaroo to you first.

The world's largest kangaroo

The red kangaroo, native to Australia, is also called the red kangaroo. Its scientific name Macropus rufus means red big feet. For male red kangaroos, this name is very descriptive because they are indeed "red and big".

Adult male red kangaroos are covered with short reddish brown or orange-red fur, with lighter fur on their abdomen and limbs. They are generally 1.4 to 1.6 meters tall , and appear taller when they stand upright with their tail supporting their body. They are almost the same height as an adult and can weigh up to 100 kilograms .

Does a 100kg boxing match make you tremble?

Don’t worry, in fact, the red kangaroo as a “boxer” is more like a gimmick .

Because their upper limbs are more similar to quadrupeds, they don't have prominent shoulder joints and well-developed shoulder muscles like humans do , and their arms can only move forward and backward. Although they can be pulled to the side of the body, they can't swing outwards over a large range.

In addition, their waists are straight and cannot be twisted flexibly, so red kangaroos cannot throw any hooks or swings in boxing, which are accelerated by pushing off the ground, twisting the waist, and swinging the arms with all the strength of the body.

Image source: National Geographic Channel

Moreover, the power of a red kangaroo's punch is about 300 pounds (about 136 kilograms) , which is not much different from the boxing power of ordinary people. However, a trained boxer can punch over 700 pounds (about 318 kilograms). In comparison, the kangaroo is not really a qualified boxer.

Another good news is:

In the case of similar height, the arm length of a kangaroo is only about 50 centimeters , while the arm of an adult male with a height of 1.8 meters can be about 75 centimeters when stretched out, which is much longer than the "short arms" of a kangaroo. You should know that in professional fighting competitions, "arm span" is a very important data. For example, the famous boxing champion Ali in history is said to have an arm span of 2.03 meters.

"An inch longer, an inch stronger." If both sides punch at the same time, the kangaroo's fist will only be halfway there before the human's fist hits the kangaroo's face.

Boxer (×) Wrestling Master (√)

In fact, rather than calling it a "boxer", it would be more appropriate to call the real red kangaroo a " wrestling master ".

The " neck lock and neck throw " is the killer move of this "wrestling master". The key to its action is to use the strong upper arm to lock the opponent's neck, making the opponent lose balance and fall to the ground, suffocating. If they are near the water, the red kangaroo will push the opponent into the water and drown him.

This action is very effective when facing predators such as dingoes that are shorter than them, or kangaroos with long necks. We often see kangaroos tilting their heads back when fighting, just to avoid being grabbed by the neck and pinned to the ground by the opponent, thus losing the game.

But it is not so easy to master this move.

Male red kangaroos have exceptionally strong pectoral muscles and biceps , which allow them to pull their arms inward very hard to hug their opponents and prevent them from breaking free. How strong is the force of tightening their arms? They can even squeeze an empty iron bucket .

Internet celebrity red kangaroo Roger Photo source: @The Kangaroo Sanctuary Alice Springs

However, this trick doesn't work well when it comes to humans - because we have short necks! And our arms can be raised to protect our heads and necks, so it's not easy for red kangaroos to find a place to attack.

At this time, King Kong Rat’s famous skill, the “ Powerful King Kong Kick ”, should come into play.

The leg structure of a kangaroo is somewhat similar to that of a sparrow. Through a thick and long Achilles tendon , the kangaroo can store the potential energy of gravity and the power provided by the developed thigh muscles like a compressed spring every time it lands, and then release it at the moment of taking off. This efficient energy conversion method allows them to easily "leap three meters away" or "jump three meters high".

When they have locked onto a target, they will use their thick tails as a support point, jump up and use their whole body strength to kick out. This kick can produce more than 750 pounds (about 340 kilograms) of force , not only eliminating the gap in strength with human boxers, but also the long legs make up for the short arms.

In the low-gravity environment of the moon, it was easy and pleasant to kick Shen Teng several meters away. Not causing him internal injuries was already considered mercy.

In addition to this supporting flying kick, Kangaroo has also developed two moves based on this:

One is the " continuous diamond kick " which is when you hold the opponent's body or head and find that you cannot knock the opponent down, you keep raising your feet and kicking the opponent's lower body continuously.

Although the power of continuous kicks will be weakened, humans whose abdomens are particularly vulnerable will be unable to withstand such attacks. Humans who are not killed by kangaroo punches will be defeated after being subjected to continuous diamond kicks.

Another move is when facing a target that is larger than oneself, the opponent will be accelerated to rush towards the opponent, suddenly jump up and then kick with both legs in the air, which is called the " Kangaroo Knight Kick ".

The acceleration of running plus the inertia effect brought by a weight of 100 kg can crack the front windshield of a car with one kick, and can also kick out a small crater on the door.

If a human wants to withstand this attack with his body, he will inevitably get hurt. You want to run away? You can't run faster than a kangaroo! A kangaroo can run up to 60 kilometers per hour . Unless you are confident that you can outrun a car, it is not easy to escape from a kangaroo.

In addition to these, the kangaroo's little fists are also "armed" with five sharp hooked claws . In the records of human battles with wild kangaroos, Homo sapiens have almost always been defeated by these claws.

If he really fought with "Gangzi" without boxing gloves like Shen Teng in the movie, the injuries would definitely not be the bruises like in the movie, but more like being scratched all over the head by a 1.8-meter-tall cat .

So, don't provoke a red kangaroo unless you and it are the only two people on the moon!

Finally, here are some muscular photos of Roger, the famous internet celebrity red kangaroo. If he could talk, would he sing every day: "My chest muscles are for you~"

Image source: @The Kangaroo Sanctuary Alice Springs

Author: Elang

Review | Huang Chengming, Researcher at the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

References:

[1] Rong Nannan, Adam. The survival embarrassment of the red kangaroo, the master of survival of the national emblem animal[J]. Global Human Geography, 2018.

[2] Liu Wenbin. Skeletal muscle fiber type and exercise ability[J]. Anhui Sports Science and Technology, 1985(04):24-29.

[3] Xu Haowen. Exercise and male hormones (II)[J]. Chinese Journal of Sports Medicine, 1988.

The cover image of this article is from the copyright gallery. The image content is not authorized for reprinting. Some of the images in the article are from the Internet.