About the Gray Kangaroo

Standing up to six feet tall and weighing as much as 120 pounds, the gray kangaroo is one of the largest marsupials in the world. It is among the largest of the nearly 70 species of kangaroos living in Australia, and it is a common sight across much of the country.

  1. Habitat

    • Gray kangaroos range across much of eastern and southwestern Australia, northern Tasmania and Kangaroo Island. They tend to live in forested areas, and they venture onto open grasslands to feed, eating mostly grass and sometimes other herbaceous plants and shrubs. They graze in the cooler parts of the day and through the night, and they retreat to the shade to sleep during the hottest parts of the day.

    Amazing Gait

    • Gray kangaroos use their powerful hind legs and huge hind feet, which can measure up to 18 inches long, to propel themselves forward at great speeds. They can bound at more than 30 mph for short distances, and they can cruise at 15 mph for long periods. Their impressive leaps can cover 25 feet of horizontal distance, and they can jump as high as six feet. Their soaring gait propels them efficiently at high speeds, their massive tails providing balance. But when they move slowly, they crawl on all fours, pulling themselves with their front legs as they swing their hind legs forward.

    Reproduction

    • Gray kangaroos are marsupials, meaning the female has a pouch in which the young are sheltered after they are born until they are old enough to venture out on their own. A baby gray kangaroo, called a joey, is less than an inch long when it is born, and it must crawl over its mother's fur to the pouch, where it will hide and nurse for months. Gray kangaroo joeys spend up to 18 months in their mothers' pouches, even retreating there when they are frightened long after they are able to move and feed on their own.

    Social Habits

    • Gray kangaroos live in groups called mobs, which consist of up to 10 individuals. Mobs are made up primarily of females and juveniles, with a matriarchal female acting as a leader. Males often leave the mob and roam, returning from time to time, but a dominant male will remain with the mob full-time during the breeding season.