Red neck wallaby
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Red-necked Wallaby ( Macropus rufogriseus ) |
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| Macropus rufogriseus | ||||||||||||
| ( Desmarest , 1817) |
The red-necked wallaby ( Macropus rufogriseus ) is a medium-sized kangaroo species from the group of wallabies . There are two subspecies, M. r. banksianus on mainland Australia and M. r. rufogriseus in Tasmania . The Tasmanian subspecies is called the Bennett wallaby or Bennett kangaroo .
features
Red-necked wallabies reach a head body length of 92 to 105 centimeters. Their tail is around 70 to 75 centimeters long. The weight of the animals is 14 to 19 kg, with the males being significantly larger than the females. They get their name from the reddish fur in the neck and shoulder area, the rest of the body is gray-brown in color. The subspecies found in Tasmania, the Bennett wallaby, is smaller and has longer hair than the subspecies found on mainland Australia. As with most kangaroo species, the hind legs are significantly longer and stronger than the front legs, the tail is long and muscular.
As with all kangaroos, the head is relatively small and the ears are comparatively long. A white stripe extends on the upper lip, the muzzle is dark brown in color.
distribution and habitat
Red-necked wallabies live in the coastal regions of eastern and southeastern Australia, in the states of Queensland , New South Wales and on the island of Tasmania . The habitat of these animals are predominantly eucalyptus forests and adjacent open grass areas.
- Distribution outside Australia
Red-necked wallabies are common and widespread and, according to the IUCN, are not endangered species. There were often attempts to settle the animals outside of their natural range. Otto Koenig , for example, tried to release 50 specimens in Austria, but they perished again in winter due to a lack of food and fluids.
Wildlife of this species has been documented from England and Scotland since 1900. There is a small population on Inchconachan Island in Loch Lomond, Scotland . Most of the time, however, such populations perished again after some time in a particularly harsh winter. B. Peak District in Derbyshire 1963.
In Germany, Bennett kangaroos come e.g. B. in the region around Stargard Castle in Mecklenburg, where in 2001 several animals escaped from their enclosure in the local zoo due to a break-in. Three animals could not be caught again and have been reproducing in the wild since then, where they were not affected by the harsh winter of 2009/2010. Red-necked wallabies that escaped a private owner in the mid-2010s are also occasionally seen around Nohfelden in northern Saarland . With 117 German owners, they are among the most common pets in zoos in Germany.
After several red-necked wallabies broke out of a zoo in the 1970s, between 100 and 150 of these animals live in a forest near Rambouillet, France .
Way of life
They are primarily crepuscular, although they sometimes look for food in daylight. They have no pronounced social behavior, many animals live solitary, but can also form loose, non-permanent groups. As with all kangaroos, the food is vegetable and consists of grasses, herbs and saplings.
While animals on the mainland can reproduce year-round, Tasmania has most births in February and March. The gestation period is around 30 days, the newborn spends its first nine months in the mother's pouch and is weaned at 12 to 17 months. As with many kangaroo species, delayed birth can also be observed in them .
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Mammals of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
Individual evidence
- ^ 3sat report on kangaroos in the Burg Stargard region, Germany , last accessed December 2, 2014.
- ^ Sarah Konrad: Animal discovery: Kangaroo sighted between Eiweiler and Bosen. Retrieved August 26, 2020 .
- ↑ Bennett's kangaroo (red- naped wallaby) on zootierliste.de, accessed on June 10, 2015
- ↑ The Telegraph (2015): Up to 150 wallabies living wild near Paris in Rambouillet forest
Web links
- Information at Animal Diversity Web
- Macropus rufogriseus onthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . Retrieved May 12, 2009.