Q. How does a female kangaroo rid itself of the dirt that its joey brings into its pouch as it jumps in and out?

A. “A female kangaroo cleans her pouch by licking it out,” said Colleen McCann, curator of mammals with the Wildlife Conservation Society at the Bronx Zoo.

“She is able to push her long snout in to clean it effectively, removing the urine and feces of the young joey by using her tongue,” Dr. McCann said. “She works her tongue around a young joey that is still attached to the teat, and older joeys are temporarily ejected while she cleans the pouch.”