Description

The largest marsupial in the world, an adult male red kangaroo can be 5 feet long, with a 42-inch tail, and weigh up to 200 pounds. Males are usually reddish brown in color, and females are usually bluish gray, but in some regions this basic color "scheme" may be reversed, with males being bluish gray and females reddish brown. Red kangaroos cannot walk, but they can jump up to 29 feet in one bound, and up to 6 feet high.

Distribution and Habitat

Red kangaroos inhabit the dry, inland, central part of Australia. They are equally at home in scrubland, shrubland, grassland, and desert, but are almost always found where there is some shade and shelter available.

Reproduction

Breeding can occur at any time of the year. Males compete for mating opportunities with several females. Each male will try to monopolize access to several females and will actively drive away other males. This behavior often leads to "boxing matches" between males. Males and females do not form permanent pair bonds.

A female kangaroo will mate even if she still has a joey in her pouch. In such cases, embryonic development will be stalled until the previous joey is able to leave its mother's pouch for at least short periods of time. It is not uncommon for a mother kangaroo to have one joey walking alongside her, one in her pounch, and another developing in her uterus.

The joey is weaned at 12 months, and is sexually active at 15-20 months (female), 20-24 months (male).

Red kangaroos can live up to 22 years in the wild.

Habits and Behaviors

Red kangaroos associate in small groups ("mobs") of about 10 animals. A mob usually consists of females and their offspring, along with one or several males. Females usually stay within their natal mob.

Red kangaroos are mostly crepuscular and noctural, but have been known to move about during the day.

Diet

Red kangaroos feed on grasses and flowering plants. They can go without liquid water for long periods by consuming moisture-filled plants.

Scientific Classification

phylum Chordata
subphylum Vertebrata
class Mammalia
order Diprotodontia
suborder Macropodiformes
family Macropodidae
subfamily Macropodinae
genus & species Macropus rufus

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