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EASTERN GREY KANGAROO Macropus Giganteus

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EASTERN GREY KANGAROO Macropus Giganteus EASTERN GREY KANGAROO Macropus giganteus About the Eastern Grey A more common sound for Where do Eastern Grey Kangaroo kangaroos is a loud thumping they Kangaroos live? make with their feet to warn Kangaroo’s are one of the largest others of danger. Eastern Grey Kangaroos occupy species of marsupial. The male most of the eastern third of Eastern Grey Kangaroo can reach Australia, especially along the up to 1.5 m in height with an AT A GLANCE coast in damp forest and scrub. additional 1 m long tail. They They have increased in numbers belong to a group of marsupials Size: since European settlement due to called macropods which means A male Eastern Grey Kangaroo land clearing and pasture ‘great footed animals’. All can grow to 1.5 m tall and can improvement, and the provisions macropods have strong back legs weigh up to 60 kg. of watering points for stock. with long feet. They hop on their back legs when travelling and use What it eats: Kangaroos are mostly nocturnal, their tail as a balance. Kangaroos are herbivores, eating which means they are more active grass, leaves and roots. at night. During the warmer Incredibly, Eastern Grey months they rest during the day in Kangaroos can maintain a speed Life span: the shade. To keep cool they drool of 20 kilometres per hour (kph) They live up to 6 years in the wild and lick saliva off their faces and for long periods of time. For short and 20 years in captivity. bodies. periods they can hop at speeds of up to 65 kph. As their speed Habitat: What does the Eastern Grey increases, so does the length of The Eastern Grey Kangaroo is Kangaroo eat? their hop, some kangaroos reach a found in eastern Australia from distance of 6 metres in 1 hop! Kangaroos survive on grass and Cape York Peninsula to Tasmania. other vegetation such as leaves They are widespread in southern Whilst hopping is energy efficient and roots. They swallow their food and eastern Victoria however they without chewing it and later at high speed, at low speed it is are not found in north western both clumsy and energetically regurgitate a cud and chew it. Victoria; here you will find expensive. They have an awkward Western Grey Kangaroos. A kangaroo’s family life walk using their hind legs with the tail providing additional support Threats: The Eastern Grey Kangaroo has no for the front legs. Dingoes and humans. set breeding cycle and they’re able to breed all year round. Kangaroos Eastern Grey Kangaroos don’t are able to adjust their breeding make many sounds. They have cycles according to the availability been heard grunting or coughing, of food and the weather in the they sometimes hiss, and females area. may make clicking or clucking sounds to call their young. EASTERN GREY KANGAROO Macropus giganteus If there is plenty of food available a female kangaroo will continue to FASCINATING FACT breed and raise her young. - ON THE AUSTRALIAN A newborn kangaroo is less than 2 COAT OF ARMS THE cm long and a gram in weight and is called a joey. As soon as it is EMU AND THE born it struggles through its KANGAROO WERE mother’s fur into her pouch. She licks a path in her fur for it to SELECTED AS travel along. SYMBOLS OF Mother and joey – Wilsons Inside the pouch it grabs onto 1 of Promontory National Park AUSTRALIA the 4 teats and stays there for 4 – REPRESENTING OUR 5 weeks. At 4 months the joey will leave the pouch for short periods PROGRESS AS A and at 9 months will leave the NATION BECAUSE pouch permanently. Whilst a newborn is attached, an older THEY CAN ONLY sibling, still not fully weaned may MOVE FORWARD AND poke its head into the pouch for milk. Each of the offspring feeds NOT BACKWARDS. only from its own individual teat and each teat supplies different mixes of nutrients depending on the age of the young. The Eastern Grey Kangaroo tends to be semi-nomadic and travel in groups called mobs. They are led by an older male who pushes other males out of the mob resulting in females outnumbering males 5 to 1. Where to see an Eastern Grey Kangaroo in Victorias parks. Eastern Grey Kangaroos are common in many parks throughout Victoria. Near Melbourne, good opportunities to see kangaroos include parks such as Lysterfield Park and Serendip Sanctuary. .
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