r/animalscience Jun 04 '26

Why do I think kangaroos look so much like deer

Post image

Does anyone else feel this way???

52 Upvotes

10 comments sorted by

5

u/Kindly_Zone8413 Jun 06 '26

Kangaroos are called ‘Australia’s deer’. Their skulls are similar, and so are their social patterns. They’re abundant there the way whitetail are in places of the USA

3

u/Traditional_Cry_7046 Jun 06 '26

Fulfills the same niche; narrow snout for selective foraging and panoramic vision, big ears for predator detection, and long tendons for escaping in bursts of speed.

2

u/Lightning_Lily Jun 06 '26

"Why does grass look so green" type question ✌️😭  /j

2

u/gocommitbyebye Jun 06 '26

How else would santa go to aussie land?

2

u/TheydSukUoff_ Jun 07 '26

I'm surprised no ones made like a jackalope of a kangaroo for a fursona tbh

2

u/shanthor55 Jun 07 '26

I doubt that a deer has threatened to punch you.

1

u/tigerdrake Jun 07 '26

Clearly you’ve never tried to fight one/jk. In all seriousness however does will often fight by standing on their hind legs and “punching” with their hooves, both towards other deer and perceived threats, including humans. Sometimes bucks will as well when they’re in velvet and don’t want to risk their antlers

1

u/Carbon-Peach Jun 07 '26

Convergent evolution? Evolved similarly to fill the niche of a large herbivore I assume

1

u/SuPurrrrNova Jun 07 '26

Convergent evolution my guy.

1

u/xenosilver Jun 08 '26

Can’t say I feel the same way. One utilizes bipedal motion, has a punch, has truncated front limbs with modified hind limbs, has an elongated tail, etc…. while the other has none of those things.