Wallabies and Kangaroos: Macropodidae

Physical characteristics: Brush-tailed rock wallabies have fur that is black-brown on their front section and red-brown on their rump. On their underside the fur is paler. They have a tail that is furry and dark colored, characteristics that have contributed to their name. These wallabies have distinctive markings on their heads consisting of a white stripe on their cheeks and a black stripe on their heads. Their head and body length ranges from 20 to 23 inches (51 to 58 centimeters). Their tails range in length from 20 to 28 inches (51 to 71 centimeters). Their weight ranges from 11 to 24 pounds (5 to 11 kilograms).

Brush-tailed rock-wallabies are native to Australia, but have been introduced into Hawaii and New Zealand, where populations of the animals now live. (Illustration by Marguette Dongvillo. Reproduced by permission.)

Geographic range: Brush-tailed rock wallabies live in eastern Australia. They have also been introduced successfully to Hawaii and New Zealand, where self-sustaining colonies now exist.

Habitat: Brush-tailed rock wallabies live in rocky areas in a variety of habitats such as rainforest and woodlands.

Diet: Brush-tailed rock wallabies mainly eat grass, but they also sometimes will eat herbs and fruits.

Behavior and reproduction: Brush-tailed rock wallabies are mostly nocturnal. They sleep in deep cracks in rocks and caves. Females are pregnant for thirty-one days before giving birth. Young live in the pouch for almost seven months before leaving.

Brush-tailed rock wallabies and people: Although brush-tailed rock wallabies have no current economic significance to humans, they were hunted in large numbers for their furs in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Conservation status: The brush-tailed rock wallaby is considered Vulnerable, meaning that it faces a high risk of extinction. The main threats to these wallabies are destruction of their habitat from the grazing of livestock and predation from species of animals that are not native to Australian such as red foxes and dingoes (wild dogs). ∎