Western Grey Kangaroo

The Western Grey Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus) is a large and very common kangaroo or macropod, found across almost the entire southern part of Australia. South Australia, is known as the Kangaroo Island Kangaroo.

The Western Grey Kangaroo is one of the largest kangaroos in Australia. It weighs 28-54 kg and its length is 0.84-1.1m with a 80-100 cm tail, standing approximately 1.3m tall. It exhibits sexual dimorphism with the male up to twice the size of female.

The kangaroo lives in groups of up to 15. The males compete for females during the breeding season. During these "boxing" contests, they would lock arms and try to push each other over. Usually, only the dominant male in the group mates. The gestation period is 30-31 days, after which, the baby Joey attaches to the teat in the pouch for 130-150 days.

There are two subspecies of the Western Grey: Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus of Kangaroo Island, and Macropus fuliginosus melanops, which has a range of different forms that intergrade clinally from west to east.

The Western Grey is not found in the tropical north or the fertile south-east of Australia, and the Eastern Grey does not extend beyond the NSW-South Australia border, but the two species are both common in the Murray-Darling Basin area.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Grey_Kangaroo - 10.12.2011