Kangaroo

MARVEL at the natural wonders of Australia on an 18-day fall zoological tour encompassing the tropical north, the Outback, south Australia and Kangaroo Island. "We see the usual places, but we also get into the interior and the great wildlife areas," said tour leader Catherine Evans. The expedition, which begins Oct.

Before there were cuddly koalas, hordes of flesh-eating kangaroos, "demon ducks" and marsupial lions roamed Australia's outback, according to paleontologists' recent fossil discoveries announced Wednesday. A team from the University of New South Wales working in the eastern state of Queensland made the discoveries in three new fossil deposits. Many of the fossils are older than 24 million years; one of the deposits is thought to contain fossils up to 500 million years old.

A kangaroo that went on a walkabout in frigid Wisconsin was captured in Dodgeville but its origin remained a mystery. Sheriff's deputies cornered the 150-pound kangaroo in a barn. Sheriff Steve Michek said residents who spotted it were hesitant to call in "because they didn't want to be made a fool of."

An infection commonly transmitted by cats has killed four red kangaroos and infected a fifth at the Indianapolis Zoo, officials said. The most common source of toxoplasmosis is contaminated cat feces, especially that of domestic cats living in the wild, according to public health officials. However, zoo officials said the zoo did not own or keep any domestic cats on its property and had not determined how the kangaroos became infected.

Not long ago, Marion Jones was a darling of the American sports scene, a powerful sprinter with explosive strides, a blur going down the track. Now she cuts a starkly different figure, a woman standing her ground against speculation about steroids and questions from anti-doping authorities. With the clock ticking down to the Summer Olympics in Athens, and her former husband talking to investigators, Jones faces the specter of charges that could ban her from the Games.

The kangaroo will join the mouse, the dog and the human in having all its genes mapped, U.S. and Australian scientists said this week. The idea is to add to the variety of animals whose DNA is fully sequenced so they can be compared genetically to humans, thus shedding light on disease and basic biology.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Tuesday that it will consider an almost decade-old petition to remove the Stephens' kangaroo rat from the government's list of endangered species. Since 1988, when the burrow-dwelling rodent was placed on the endangered list, the rat has been a problem for developers, farmers and county officials, who had to devise plans that would both protect their economic interests and the rat.

An Australian woman said she was picking roses outside her home on the outskirts of Brisbane when a large kangaroo pushed her down and then kicked, bit and scratched her. "The look in the kangaroo's eye made me feel that I knew I was in trouble," Sylvia Aldren told Nine Network television. "I thought this is it, he's going to kill me." Aldren suffered injuries to her chest, arms and legs. Neighbors said they have been terrorized in recent years by a mob of about 50 kangaroos.

Bob Keeshan, better known as Captain Kangaroo, died Friday at age 76, and that he wasn't older seems to have been a matter of general surprise -- the impression being that he was a geezer from the day he first threw open the doors of his Treasure House, in October 1955. He was only 28, in fact, but he had already been Clarabell the Clown on "Howdy Doody," Corny the Clown on "Time for Fun" and Tinker the Toymaker on "Tinker's Workshop."

Bob Keeshan, television's beloved Captain Kangaroo, who entertained and educated millions of children for more than 30 years, died Friday. He was 76. Keeshan, who lived in Hartford, Vt., died after a long illness at a hospital in Windsor, his family said. "Bob Keeshan was a true pioneer in children's television whose legacy goes unmatched," CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves said in a statement Friday.