Scientific Name: Macropus fuliginosus

Lifespan: up to 20 years

Weight: 26kg

Length: 0.84–1.1 m; with a 0.80–1.0 m tail, standing approximately 1.3 m

Appearance:

They have a finely haired muzzle. They have light to dark-brown fur. Paws, feet and tail tips vary in colour from brown to black

Distribution:

southern part of the continent of Australia including southern Queensland, southern New South Wales, and western Victoria

Habits and Lifestyle:

These kangaroos form social groups or “mobs”: small family groups where an adult female is the matriarch, with other females in the group, as well as young. Male kangaroos compete for dominance of these groups, with the strongest becoming the leader.

Diet:

Western grey kangaroos eat grasses, forbs, leaves, tree bark, and shrubby browse. They use microorganisms in an organ called the cecum to digest the cellulose of plants.

Reproduction:

Western grey kangaroos can breed continuously, but a peak in reproductive activity exists in the seasons of spring and summer. Sexual maturity is reached at approximately 20 months for males and 17 months for females. Females have an oestrous cycle of approximately 35 days.

Scientific Name: Macropus giganteus

Lifespan: 10-20 years

Weight: Males: 50-66 kg; Females: 17-40 kg

Length: Males: body length to 1.3m, tail to 1m; females: body length to 1m, tail to 0.84m

Appearance:

Their fur is grey brown in colour. Their underparts are pale grey or whitish. They have long ears with a whitish inner fringe and dark eyes.

Distribution:

found over most of the eastern states including Tasmania.

Habits and Lifestyle:

They live in mobs of 10 or more in a home range of up to 5km in eastern Australia..

Diet:

Eastern Grey Kangaroos eat grasses, herbs and occasionally shrubs.

Reproduction:

 Eastern Grey Kangaroos can breed throughout the year. However, most births occur during summer or in response to favourable conditions. Joeys are born 36 days after conception

Other Name: Common Wallaroo

Scientific Name: Macropus robustus

Lifespan: 18 years

Weight:  7-60 kg males. 6-28 kg females

Length: 1110-1985mm, tail length 535-900mm 

Appearance:

The Common Wallaroo is heavily built (especially males), with shaggy fur and a characteristic hunched stance. Dark grey, yellowish-brown to reddish-brown or paler grey above, depending on subspecies, and generally paler below. Males darker than females.

Distribution:

widely distributed throughout most of Australia, except Tasmania.

Habits and Lifestyle:

Common Wallaroos are mostly solitary and nocturnal, and occupy a relatively small and stable home range close to water or a rocky outcrop, and moving from rough country to feed on shrubs and grasses in adjacent areas.

Diet:

Common wallaroos are herbivorous, grazing mostly on shrubs and soft-textured grasses.

Reproduction:

They can breed all year round, but reproduction is reduced in times of drought and may cease if drought is prolonged. Average Gestation is 34 days

1. The word kangaroo comes from the Guugu Yimithirr people sharing the word “gangurru” whilst  referring to eastern grey  kangaroos with James Cook and the crew of the Endeavour in 1770. Kangaroos are indigenous to Australia and New Guinea.
2. The name was first recorded as “Kanguru” on July 12th 1770 in an entry in the diary of Sir Joseph Banks
3. Kangaroos are part of the coat of arms and are seen in various logos , also a mascot at international sporting events.
4. Kangaroos are often referred to as “roos”. Male kangaroos are called Bucks, Boomers, Jacks or Old Men . Females are Does, Flyers or Jills, they have a pouch called a marsupiumin which joey’s complete postnatal development .  The young are called Joeys.  
5. Gestation takes 31 -36 days and is the  size of a lima bean, the newborn instinctively climbs to the pouch and attaches itself to the teat where it will stay in the pouch for about 9 months, it is usually fed by its mother for 18 months. 
6. Female kangaroos have the ability to freeze the development of the embryo until the previous joey is able to leave the pouch known as embryonic diapause. And will occur in times of drought or poor food sources. 
7. The composition of milk produced by the mother varies  according to the needs of the joey, in addition the mother is able to produce 2 different kinds of milk simultaneously for the newborn in the pouch and an older joey .  
8. The collective noun for a group of kangaroos is a mob , court or troupe. The most common kangaroo south of Adelaide is the western grey kangaroo.
9. Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodiae (macropod meaning large foot)
10. Kangaroos are the Largest Marsupial on Earth
11. They are left handed – Based on research with red kangaroos, eastern greys, and red-necked wallabies, researchers have found the animals are primarily left-handed, using that hand for tasks such as grooming and eating about 95% of the time. Their hands also seem to be specialised for different types of work, with kangaroos typically using their left hand for precision and their right for strength.
12. Red Kangaroos are able to hop 7.6 m across the ground and 1.8 m up, at a speed of 56 km/hr
13. When they are going at a slow pace, in smaller areas, Kangaroos use their tails as a Fifth Leg
14. Kangaroos are not able to move backwards
15. In warm and hot weather, Kangaroo will lick their arms, as a self cooling system. This cooling effect is produced by the moisture in the saliva, cooling down the blood in the small blood vessels just beneath the skin.