How Australia’s ancient landscape helped kangaroos evolve their efficient hop

Bengaluru: New research highlights how Australia’s unique environment shaped one of the animal kingdom’s most efficient ways to move: the kangaroo’s hop.

The ability to hop on two legs is more energy-efficient than running on four legs in the specific conditions of Australia’s open, arid landscapes.The findings show how natural selection favored hopping as grasslands expanded and distances between food and water sources grew.

For kangaroos, hopping conserves energy at higher speeds and across long distances. Their large, elastic tendons in the hind legs act like springs, storing and releasing energy with each bound. This adaptation lets them cover vast areas of the outback while spending less energy than a four-legged run would require.

The story points to a broader insight about animal behavior. Even if an animal is less intelligent than humans at particular tasks, it can still make complex decisions. An interesting one concerns how it searches for food, and evolution has equipped kangaroos with a body perfectly tuned to their home.