General Information:
Common Name: Wallaby
Scientific Name: Macropus ruforiseus
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Macropodidae
Description:
The wallaby is a medium-sized macropod marsupia, common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Its name is due to the reddish fur on its shoulders and nape. The rest of its body is fawny gray, except for its white chest and belly. Its tail is gray on top and white below. Its paws are gray, with black at the ends. Its muzzle is dark brown. The ears of these wallabies are longer than those of others of the kangaroo family.
Distribution:
Wallabies live in eastern Australia from the New South Wales to Queensland border area, through to South Australia, and in Tasmania. There is also large introduced population in New Zealand where wallaby where declared a pest, and small colonies in Scotland, England, Ireland and France.
Habitat:
Wallabies prefer subtropical, cool temperate, wet and dry sclerophyll forests, as well as woodland with adjoining grassy areas.
Diet:
Wallabies are herbivores and their diet consists of grasses, roots, tree leaves, and weeds.
Mating Habits:
Wallabies are polygynandries (promiscuous), when two or more males mate with two or more females. The breeding season takes place from December until May, but in areas with better resources can occur year round. Gestation lasts for 30 days and one young is born to each mating female. A newborn must crawl to its mother’s pouch, where it will nurse continually for about 7 months. The young are not very developed when born and they complete a large part of their growth in the pouch. At about 7 months old they are large enough to stay out of the pouch for a short time. They are completely weaned at the age of 10-12 months. Females may stay in their birth range for life but males leave when they are two years old. Females reach sexual maturity at about 14 months of age and males at 19 months.
Threats:
There seem to be no big threats to this species. In Tasmania and New Zealand, however, these animals are sometimes killed under license due to being a pest of crops or pasture, and they are commercially harvested for meat.
IUCN Status: Least Concern