Licking Their Forearms Keeps Kangaroos Cool

When it is hot, we sweat. By doing this, we create a little wet layer on our skin. When this wet layer evaporates, it absorbs our body heat and carries it away as it evaporates. By spreading saliva on their forearms, Australia’s Red kangaroo creates a similar wet layer on their forearms. The skin on their forearms is very thin, which makes it easy for the body heat to dissipate into the environment. Moreover, right beneath their forearms lies a large venous network where blood circulation is high, which allows a large amount of heat to build up in this area and also be gotten rid off. Licking their forearms is an important adaptation of the Red kangaroo to the hot and arid environment they live in. Especially now that the Red kangaroo’s habitat is heating up due to climate change, being adapted is important for these marsupials to survive.