Hopping news - how the kangaroo got its bounce

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tammar_Wallaby.jpg

Researchers have laid bare the DNA of a kangaroo species for the first time.

An international team of scientists, writing in the Biomed Central journal, Genome Biology, say they have even indentified a gene responsible for the kangaroo's hop.

The group focussed on a small species of kangaroo that inhabits islands off Australia's south and western coasts.

The tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii) is only the third marsupial to have its genome sequenced. Making up the trio are the Tasmanian devil and the South American opossum.

'Roos run horses off the track in Victoria

FEISTY macropods forced organisers to abandon the annual Hanging Rock Australia Day races in Victoria after a mob of kangaroos repeatedly invaded the track.The Hanging Rock Racing Club holds only two race meetings a year - on New Year's Day and Australia Day - in a tradition going back more than 125 years.
The race track is at the foot of the famous Hanging Rock formation in the Macedon Ranges.
The area is famous as the setting of Picnic At Hanging Rock, a novel and subsequent film about the mysterious disappearance of three schoolgirls and a teacher on an outing at Hanging Rock on Valentine's Day 1900.

OOPA: Kangaroo hit by car in Germany

An Out of Place Animal (OOPA) a long way from home met an unfortunate end at the hands of a startled German driver this week.

A 53-year-old driver in the Lower Saxony town of Haren was startled when the kangaroo bounced into the path of his car on Wednesday. Despite slamming on his brakes, he hit and injured the animal.

With the help of a local resident, the man captured the kangaroo and took it to the nearby Nordhorn zoo. Vets at the zoo established that the animal had a serious leg fracture they were unable to mend. They therefore put the animal down.

Police announced on Thursday that it was still unclear where the iconic Australian animal had come from.

“So far, no kangaroo from a zoo or animal park has been reported as missing,” a police spokesman said.

http://www.thelocal.de/society/20100930-30191.html

Albino macropods no bush myth

Weekly Times reader Malcolm Thompson was driving along the Manangatang-Ouyen Road in Victoria when he spotted this albino kangaroo and friend grazing in a paddock.

"I couldn't believe it," Malcolm said. "I've been knocking around the bush for 40 years and I've never seen a white albino anything, let alone a white albino kangaroo!"

Albino kangaroos and wallabies are not as uncommon as you might think.

In Australia's infancy they were considered to be prized gifts to other countries and frequently shared headlines with world leaders.

The sighting brings to mind the famous meeting between Winston Churchill and 'Digger' the albino kangaroo at London Zoo in 1947.

The CFZ have come across several old clippings about albino kangaroos and wallabies.

We also know Taronga Zoo founder Sir Edward Hallstrom also used to breed albino kangaroos at his property in Sydney, and gifted one to President Truman in 1952 - poor 'roo! Or was it a case of 'hoo-roo'?