General Description

Male body fur red-brown, paler on the legs, arms, face and tail. Female body fur blue-grey, paler underneath. Wide white stripe on face. Male body up to 1.4 m, tail up to 1 m. Female body up to 1.1 m, tail up to 90 cm.

Biology

Red Kangaroos are the world's largest living marsupial, but at birth, like all Kangaroos, they are only about the size of jelly beans and not very developed. The blind, hairless baby Red Kangaroo (known at this stage as a neonate) will crawl into its mother's pouch where it develops further before emerging months later as a joey. A female Red Kangaroo can have up to three young in varying stages of development if conditions are favourable: one in her pouch; a more independent, though still-suckling joey, out of the pouch; and an embryo that will emerge into the pouch when its older sibling moves out. Breeding does not occur in times of drought. Red Kangaroos are active from dusk until dawn in small groups, but often feed in larger groups (mobs). They are considered pests by some farmers because they compete with stock for grass.

Distribution

Arid areas of interior mainland Australia.

Habitat

Arid areas, grasslands, woodlands and shrublands.

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