While a kangaroo is a curious animal for us in India, it is not so for the Australians; because the animal is found there in plenty. So is the case with most marsupials. Now did that happen?
Millions of years ago, when the earth did not have the many continents it has today, all the marsupials lived on one huge continent. Over time, the large continent broke into smaller pieces. The marsupials that had found their most comfortable habitat in a particular geographic location remained only in two of the pieces-those that now form South America and Australia.
Gradually some of the South American marsupials moved north to live in North America. Many of the American marsupials died out when more ‘modern’ mammals like horses and cats developed. The only marsupial now found in America is the opossum.
However, since Australia is an island situated very far away from the other continents, the ‘modern’ mammals could not reach it easily. As a result, most marsupials today are found in Australia.
Picture credit: google
