- The largest kangaroo and the largest marsupial
- The largest mammal native to Australia
- Can leap 9m in one bound
- Males: length up to 1.4m and weight up to 85kg
- Females: up to 1.1m and 35kg
- Tails can be up to an additional 1m long
- Males can be 2m tall, average is 1.5m
Grey kangaroos are not endangered – but certain tree-kangaroos are! Find out more about tree kangaroos.
Red Kangaroo
Red Kangaroo
The largest marsupial, the red kangaroo is probably one of the best known of Australia's native animals, living in small groups in the dry central areas.
Red kangaroos (Macropus rufus) are large animals with extremely long and powerful hind legs and feet.Their tail is also long and muscular but their front limbs are short.
When moving fast they hop on their hind legs, using their tail as a counterbalance, and when moving slowly they use their tail as an extra limb, taking their weight on their front limbs and tail while hopping their hind feet forwards.
Their fur is soft and reddish brown (greyer in females). They have quite long muzzles and rather large ears, making their heads look a bit like those of deer.
The Red Kangaroo is mainly active in the cool of the evening or night, and lives alone or in small groups called 'mobs' (although food shortages can cause them to congregate into larger groups).
Membership of these groups is very flexible, and males (boomers) are not territorial, fighting only after females (flyers) which come into heat.
The largest males are dominant, and control most of the matings.
The Red Kangaroo is nocturnal and largely spends the daylight hours sleeping or otherwise relaxing.
