The Western grey kangaroo is one of the biggest and most abundant of kangaroos, and can be told apart from its close relative, the Eastern grey kangaroo by the browner fur, darker color of the head, long dark ears which are almost hairless on the backs, and in some of them, a blackish patch at the elbow. The male is much bigger than the female, and has longer and more muscular forearms and shoulders, heavier claws on its forepaws, and thicker skin over its belly, which helps in absorbing the impact of kicks when fighting. The adult male has a strong, curry-like smell, which has given it the common name ‘stinker’. Habits and LifestyleThese 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. During the mating season, young males can form male-only groups that are separate from the mobs. More mature males sometimes have loose associations with other male kangaroos which vary from one year to another.

Old male kangaroos are usually solitary. This species, in the east of its range, may mix with mobs of eastern grey kangaroos, although they usually exist separately, as they prefer different habitats. The Western grey is most active from the late afternoon until early morning, and it rests during the day under trees and shrubs. These kangaroos are polygynous, the males competing during the breeding season for females.

The current listing of the Agile Wallaby, according to the IUCN Red List is common. (ITIS Report, 2009) 1.3 EA CATEGORY Threatened Status: Low Risk Least Concern Abundant (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999) State requirements / permits for movement or transfer: are covered in the transport section of this manual. Eastern grey kangaroos are seasonal breeders (spring and early summer), unlike some kangroo species such as the red kangaroo or even the closely related western grey kangaroo, which breeds continously as long as the conditions are good. The eastern grey kangaroo exhibits embryonic diapause, a condition in which development of the zygote is halted.

During such 'boxing' contests, the kangaroos lock forearms and attempt to push one another over. Typically, only the dominant male of the group will mate. These kangaroos can breed year round, but there is a peak in reproductive activity in spring and summer.

Gestation lasts for only 30 days, and the tiny newborn climbs up by itself through its mother's fur to the pouch, where it will remain to be nursed. Most of its development takes place in its mother's pouch, and the young emerges after about 9 months, suckling until it is about 17 months of age. Female western greys become sexually mature at about 20 to 36 months, males at about 20 to 72 months. Population Population threatsWestern grey kangaroos are still abundant through the majority of its original range, with the population possibly even expanding. However, this species may be threatened by the spread of agriculture, particularly where the land has undergone clearance for cereal crops, and it may also have gone from many areas densely populated by people.

Western greys are very numerous in some regions and it is considered as a pest species, seen as a competitor for water pasture with domestic cattle and sheep. The kangaroos are culled under license every year, to prevent damage to pasture and crops. Additionally, regulated commercial hunting is allowed for meat and skins, the skins providing a high-quality, long-lasting leather.

There is discussion about whether populations of kangaroo can sustain the present hunting levels, particularly in the face of drought and increased human habitat modification. Population numberAccording to the Australian Government Department of the Environment, the total population size of the Western grey kangaroo is 2,348,393 individuals. Today western greys’ numbers are increasing and they are classified as least concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Ecological nicheWestern grey kangaroos control the growth of vegetation by feeding on forbs and grasses.

Fun Facts for Kids. According to legend, Lieutenant James Cook and the naturalist Joseph Banks were exploring an area in Australia when they came upon a kangaroo. Trust nf340 race master drivers for mac free. They asked a local what the animal was called. This person said 'Kangaroo', which meant 'I don't understand you', the explorers taking it to be the animal's name.

Western greys are the most vocal out of the three species of large kangaroo. Mothers communicate with their joeys by a series of clicks. They growl like a dog in defense.

Western greys maintain very close social bonds, and keep up family connections for years. Daughters often stay close to their mothers, even after having their own joey. Young kangaroos sometimes pass the time by boxing playfully. A kangaroo has very good eyesight but just for moving objects. It has excellent hearing, and can swivel its ears in any direction to pick up sounds.

AbstractThe extent to which goats and cattle eat equivalent amounts of forage as sheep has been based on their maintenance energy requirements (MERs) relative to a 50 kg wether or dry ewe, known as a dry sheep equivalent (DSE). Burna boy ye album download zip download. As such, a 50 kg goat was considered 1 DSE and a 450 kg steer as 7–8 DSE. In comparison, the DSE of macropods has been based on their basal metabolic rate (BMR) or energy expenditure of grazing (EE g) relative to those of sheep, with a 50 kg macropod thought to be 0.7 and 0.45 DSE respectively. Based on published energy requirements of goats, macropods and cattle relative to sheep, their DSE values are estimated to be 1.2, 1.0 and 7.6 respectively.

However, relative energy requirements may not be the same as relative dry matter intakes (DMIs), due to differences in forage quality, the structure of digestive tracts and selective foraging capabilities. Allometric equations that predict DMI were developed from published liveweights and intakes of sheep, goats, macropods and cattle. Given DMIs when fed high-quality forage, a 50 kg goat was 1 DSE, a 50 kg macropod was 0.7 DSE and a 450 kg steer was 7.6 DSE. Their DMIs were depressed by 35–50% when fed low-quality forage, but a goat remained as 1 DSE, macropods increased to 1.0 DSE and cattle increased to 8.3 DSE. The capacity of macropods to maintain relatively higher DMIs of low-quality forage than sheep is probably due of their faster digesta passage rates and more expandable stomachs. These DMIs of animals provided ad-libitum quantities of similar forages in small pens are likely to differ from their DMIs when selectively grazing heterogeneous rangeland pastures. Under these conditions, sheep select higher-quality diets than cattle, and kangaroos select higher-quality diets than sheep, which increase the relative DMIs of the smaller herbivores.

For this reason, a 50 kg macropod is likely to be 1 DSE and consume twice as much forage than previously assumed.