Kangaroos can learn to communicate with humans, study says

A new study has claimed that Kangaroos can learn to communicate with humans similar to how domesticated dogs do.

Kangaroos can use their gaze to "point" and ask for help, researchers said in a study published on Wednesday.

The study involved 11 kangaroos that lived in captivity but had not been domesticated. Ten of the 11 marsupials intently gazed at researchers when they were unable to open a box with food, according to the report.

Nine alternately looked at the human and at the container, as a way of pointing or gesturing toward the object.

The findings challenge the notion that only domesticated animals such as dogs, horses or goats communicate with humans, and suggests many more animals could grasp how to convey meaning to humans, the paper asserts.

"It's more likely to be a learned behaviour when the environment is right," researchers say.