Fun Facts!

Wallabies are not kangaroos! Wallabies are smaller than kangaroos; they can hop 4-6 feet high; they can broad jump 25 feet; they can hop up to 40 miles per hour, but will tire quickly. A kangaroo is much faster and can jump farther than a wallaby. One kangaroo was seen to jump the length of a school bus!

Excellent hearing, and sense of smell and sight make wallabies very alert. Individual wallabies identify each other by smell.

Like cattle and reindeer, red-necked wallabies swallow their food without chewing it thoroughly, then later re-chew it ('chewing the cud').

Good with their hands: The red-necked wallaby can hold chunky food in its paws.

Red-necked Wallaby

Macropus rufogriseus

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Red-necked wallabies are named for the reddish fur on their napes and shoulders. The rest of the body is light gray with a white chest and belly. The tail is gray above and white below. Their hands and feet are gray, becoming black at the ends of the digits (fingers and toes). The muzzle is dark brown, and their ears are longer in proportion to other macropods (marsupials with long, thin back feet). They weigh 30-40 pounds, and males are generally larger than females.

HABITAT

Red-necked wallabies are found in coastal woodlands and eucalyptus forests that have both shrub cover and open areas. They are found in eastern and southeastern Australia, and are especially common in Queensland, northeastern New South Wales, and Tasmania.

DIET IN THE WILD

Red-necked wallabies are usually grazers, eating mostly grasses, roots, leaves, and herbs. During dry spells, the juicy roots supply them with water.

BEHAVIOR

Red-necked wallabies usually spend daylight hours resting in cover, although they can be seen looking for food until late in the morning and again late in the afternoon. They may use their forepaws to scratch for roots. Red-necked wallabies cool themselves by licking their hands and forearms when the temperature is warm, or when they are agitated. They are mostly solitary, but may forage in groups of up to 30 individuals. Red-necked wallabies move primarily by hopping, but they can also occasionally crawl using all four legs and the tail. They can also swim!

At birth, a baby wallaby - called a "joey" - is no bigger than a bumblebee. Newborns weigh just one gram and measure less than an inch long. They're mostly head, front legs, and paws, but they have well-developed forelimbs and shoulders. After eating and growing in their mother's pouch for 6 months, the joey emerges as a furry, alert youngster. From the pouch, it can explore the world safely. It can reach out and sniff objects, and can pick up grasses and try to eat them. A joey may come and go from the pouch for up to nine months. To get back into the pouch, it will grip the rim with its forepaws, dive in head first, somersault to get right side up, and twist around to face outside.

STATUS IN THE WILD

There are a lot of them living in the wild - they are not currently on any endangered species list.

LIFE SPAN

Typical lifespan for the red-necked wallaby is 10 - 12 years.