Beginnings

A kangaroo baby is born deaf, blind and no bigger than a little finger. The mother leans back so the baby can crawl up her belly into the pouch and latch on to a teat. The teat engorges the baby's mouth, the edges of which simultaneously tighten so the baby is hanging from the teat. the baby is unable to suckle, so the female injects milk into its mouth using a special muscle located directly above her mammary glands. She and the baby are so firmly attached that both will bleed if any attempt is made to separate them.

The people of the desert think human beings were originally [like] baby kangaroos. The Luritja people believe the first people were joined to each other. Their eyes and ears were not open ad their arms were still attached along the sides of their torsos. The legs were pulled up against their bodies. In this helpless state they were cared for by small birds called kurbaru, who fed them little cakes made of grass seeds.

-- from Terra Nullius by Sven Lindqvist.