The Wallaroo

This Australian marsupial got his name by putting together the words WALLaby and kangAROO since it is between these two animals in size. There are four different kinds of wallaroos in Australia depending on the region. They are the Eastern Wallaroo, the Euro, the Black Wallaroo and the Antilopine Wallaroo. This last one is actually more like kangaroo in the way that it stays in groups unlike other wallaroos which are rather solitary in nature. The Eastern Wallaroo has a coat of gray fur and the Euro has reddish fur. They all have a bare black nose and big ears. The males usually measure between 1 to 1.4 meters, (39 to 55 inches), in height and weigh 22 to 45 kilograms, (50 to 100 pounds). The female is quite a bit smaller with a height of 0.75 to 1 meters, (2.5 to 3.3 feet), and a weight of 18 to 22.5 kilograms, (40 to 50 pounds). Wallaroos usually live in rocky areas where they will hide and rest during the day and come out to eat grass and small shrubs at night. They also have perfect feet to climb on rocks because of the fur on the pads of their feet.

The Wallaroo reaches sexual maturity when it is between 18 to 24 months old and mates throughout the whole year. A small baby, the size of a peanut, is born after 32 days gestation. This baby, called a joey, is born without fur and blind but still finds its way into its mother's pouch. The joey will stay in his mother's pouch until the age of 6 months when he is takes his first steps. It still returns to the pouch until sometime between the age of 9 months and a year. It is possible for a female wallaroo to be pregnant and have a baby in her pouch at the same time. Wallaroos live usually up to 17 or 18 years of age.

When there is a drought wallaroos will survive by digging holes in the ground of up to 1 meter, (3 feet), deep to find water. They are also somewhat like camels in the sense that they only lose about 2 to 4% of their body weight per day. Finally they can get the water they need from their food.

Further Information on the Wallaroo:

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Bibliography:

Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallaroo

http://australian-animals.net/wallaroo.htm

http://www.oaklandzoo.org/atoz/azwalaro.html

http://www.giveusahome.co.uk/australian/wallaroo.htm

Grzimek, Bernhard. Four-Legged Australians. London: Collins, 1967. p.98 & 110

Another great website for good information:

http://australian-animals.net/wallaroo.htm

http://www.australianstamp.com/Coin-Web/feature/nature/commwall.htm