Sunday 16 June 2024

Mammals on Monday 2 - Eastern Grey Kangaroo

 The Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) is the default Kangaroo in my part of Australia.  This species is found in most of the eastern states of Australia, including Tasmania.  Generally they are found in areas where the annual rainfall is more than 250mm. They can also be found in subalpine areas. AS a habitat, they tend to favour denser scrubs and forests.

These individuals were photographed at Wilsons Promontory National Park (on the same day as last week's Wombats), in an area where their 'chosen' rainfall preference is clear, although I would not really describe the areas where I saw them as dense scrub or forest.

Oh well.

Being called Grey is pretty accurate: Their fur is a light grey colour except the face which is a little darker. They also have a dark tip to their tails. The males have a body length to about 1.3m and a extra 1m of tail! The females are generally a little smaller.








You can't really see the difference between their massively strong hind legs, and their much smaller front legs - which I cant help but think of as arm.  But you can see that the 'arms' are well adapted for scratching!

SM



4 comments:

  1. We just saw this mammal in the zoo..... cute photos.
    Have a great weekend

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  2. Hari Om
    A perennial favourite to spot when out bush bashing! YAM xx

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  3. Love those creatures. Thank you for sharing.

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