Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. You may be thinking that this is solely a choice of the animals, but the truth is that neither animal has the ability to walk backwards. We will try to explain each animal individually.
A kangaroo can’t walk backwards for several reasons. Firstly, kangaroos do not walk, they hop and kind of crawl. When we say kind of crawl, what they will do at times is use their front paws to help themselves gently glide along the ground. While saying that they don’t walk because they hop is being a little pedantic, I know, there is another reason, a very good reason that a kangaroo can’t walk backwards. It’s that very big thing protruding from its back. The tail.
The tail is the primary reason a kangaroo can’t walk backwards. It’s long, thick and very muscular. Apart from that, it’s also not very flexible. It’s kind of the third leg that helps them keep balance and move. The downside it that they cannot move backwards. But they also have something else that prevents them from moving in that direction. Their very big feet. The design only allows them to move generally in one direction. But kangaroos can move backwards slightly, usually under one condition. During a fight. In an attempt to avoid injury, they can move slightly away from their opponent, and it’s often in the rearward motion.
Emus on the other hand are a more difficult to ascertain the truth if they can walk backwards or not. So far, no proof has ever been presented to suggest that they can walk backwards. Many have suggested that the knee joints of the second largest bird in the world prevent the animal from moving in that general direction.
If emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, why are they on the Australian coat of arms?
It’s fair to say that one of the most recognizable animals in Australia is the kangaroo. But there are other animals native to the country that people from around the world might more easily recognize. For instance the koala or platypus also appear no where else around the world, and most will know exactly what they are looking at. But it’s the motion of the emu and kangaroo that has earned them a spot on the coat of arms.
Because emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards the powers tat be decided that it would be a fantastic animal to include on the coat of arms. The reason being that if an animal is unable to move in reverse, it leaves only one direction, forward. As both animals are only moving forward they have been used to symbolize the country moving forward.
