It has two forelimbs with small claws, two muscular hind-limbs, which are used for jumping, and a strong tail which is often used to create a tripod when standing upright.

[12][13] The average red kangaroo stands approximately 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) tall to the top of the head in upright posture.

[13] The red kangaroo maintains its internal temperature at a point of homeostasis about 36 °C (97 °F) using a variety of physical, physiological, and behavioural adaptations.

These include having an insulating layer of fur, being less active and staying in the shade when temperatures are high, panting, sweating, and licking its forelimbs.

To survive in harsh conditions and conserve energy, Red kangaroos can enter a state of torpor.

[21] Red kangaroos are capable of conserving enough water and selecting enough fresh vegetation to survive in an arid environment.

[22] Red kangaroo primarily eat green vegetation, particularly fresh grasses and forbs, and can get enough even when most plants look brown and dry.

[23] One study of kangaroos in Central Australia found that green grass makes up 75–95% of the diet, with Eragrostis setifolia dominating at 54%.

[25] During dry times, kangaroos search for green plants by staying on open grassland and near watercourses.

[23] While grasses and forbs are preferred, red kangaroos will also eat certain species of chenopods, like Bassia diacantha and Maireana pyramidata, and will even browse shrubs when its favoured foods are scarce.

Red kangaroos rely on small saltbushes or mulga bushes for shelter in extreme heat rather than rocky outcrops or caves.

[23] Kangaroos in New South Wales have weekly home ranges of 258–560 ha (640–1,380 acres), with the larger areas belonging to adult males.

[28] When forage is poor and rainfall patchy, kangaroos will travel 25–30 km (16–19 mi) to more favourable feeding grounds.

[25] Another study of kangaroos in central Australia found that most of them stay close to remaining vegetation but disperse to find fresh plants after it rains.

They usually stand up on their hind limbs and attempt to push their opponent off balance by jabbing him or locking forearms.

The females have the unusual ability to delay the birth of their baby until their previous joey has left the pouch.

Its hind legs are mere stumps; it instead uses its more developed forelegs to climb its way through the thick fur on its mother's abdomen into the pouch, which takes about three to five minutes.

[37] While the young joey will permanently leave the pouch at around 235 days old, it will continue to suckle until it reaches about 12 months of age.

[38] The female red kangaroo is usually permanently pregnant except on the day she gives birth; however, she has the ability to freeze the development of an embryo until the previous joey is able to leave the pouch.

[39] The red kangaroo is an abundant species and has even benefited from the spread of agriculture and creation of man-made waterholes.

[42] Like all Australian wildlife, the red kangaroo is protected by legislation, but it is so numerous that there is regulated harvest of its hide and meat.