Wallaby animal. Swamp Wallaby: A small Australian kangaroo. The status of the species in nature
Our planet is the richest owner of representatives of flora and fauna. How many unusual and amazing animals live on our earth. Some representatives are so mysterious and cute that they cannot be called anything other than a miracle of nature. One of these miracles are kangaroos, they are considered a unique gift of nature.
In total there are more than fifty species of this animal. All representatives have their own characteristics and differences, mainly they are in the size of animals and weight. Among kangaroos, red, gray are known, there are even so-called kangaroos, as well as wallaby- medium size, and many others.
Wallabies are marsupials that belong to the Kangaroo family. They are not separate biological group, but is a collection of varieties that consist of several genera.
Wallabies are very similar to gigantic, but the size of these animals is much smaller. wallaby weight is approximately twenty kilograms, and the height of the animal itself is about seventy centimeters.
However, such a small size of the animal allows you to jump as much as ten meters in length. There are approximately 15 species of wallabies, appearance and the habits of these animals are absolutely identical, the only difference is in their habitat. For example, there are swamp, mountain wallabies, striped, living on the islands, and so on.
Many of the species of our heroes are on the verge of extinction, no matter how sad it is to admit it, but, for example, striped wallabies remained to live only on two islands near west coast Australia. Kangaroo wallaby consider endemic to Australia.
Character and lifestyle
The wallaby animal is very surprising and unusual, this is also proved by the fact that they can be kept as pet. wallaby kangaroo very easy to communicate with a person and they can be easily tamed.
However, for this, the animal must be removed from wildlife still at all young age, and it is better in infancy, and independently feed and raise it. This is a very difficult task, because the wallaby cub requires constant care, feeding at first is carried out strictly by the clock and from a baby bottle.
In a word, such pet will require considerable physical and moral costs on the part of its owners. The main thing here is not to miss the moment, since the adult representatives of this family will no longer succumb to education and domestication.
In the wild, wallabies prefer to stay in packs. However, male kangaroos do not get along well in the same flock. If you really have to share a common space, then they demonstrate their dissatisfaction with threatening poses, but at the same time, fights and wars for the rights of the leader are extremely rare, since these animals by their nature do not belong to fighters.
Females, in turn, can enter into a fight with each other. To avoid such conflicts, a special hierarchy reigns in the pack, where there are dominant individuals and those who are forced to obey them. This helps to avoid conflicts between .
By nature, wallabies are very curious and have a very inquisitive mind. They love to travel through dense vegetation. rainforest and explore new territories, constantly expand the boundaries.
wallaby habitat consider the jungle, although they often go out to pastures and watering holes. Some species prefer to do this exclusively at night, and in general, they lead an active lifestyle mainly in the dark.
For sleep, they find some kind of shelter and there during the day they restore their strength, and with the onset of darkness they enter the wakefulness phase. Sometimes wallabies are called tree kangaroos. This is due to their habit of spending a lot of time in trees.
wallaby food
Wallabies are herbivores. wallabies feed one vegetation that is within their reach. It can be various herbs, leaves of shrubs, various berries. Among the representatives of wallabies, there are those who need a high-quality and balanced diet.
Wallabies only eat kangaroos the best varieties plants, special preference is given to certain types of ferns, berries. At the same time, they can use in their diet and animal food.
To quench their thirst, these animals get watering places, however, in case of any danger, wallabies can do without water and food at all. These are quite hardy animals that can endure both thirst and hunger for some time.
Reproduction and lifespan of a wallaby
Wallaby kangaroos are marsupials, respectively, female wallabies carry their cubs in special bags. Before the birth of offspring, each future mom cares about the future habitat of his child.
Kangaroo mothers thoroughly wash their bags, lick them, because here she will carry her baby. The pregnancy itself in a kangaroo lasts about a month, about 30 days.
Wallaby kangaroo offspring, they are also called joey, are born very tiny, their size at the time of birth is approximately two centimeters. But they are already capable of the first journey they make, reaching the mother kangaroo's pouch.
Tiny babies do this with the help of very thin and sharp claws, with which they deftly cling to the wool on the mother's belly. Babies spend their first eight months of life in their mother's pouch. Initially, females feed them for about 80 days.
A mother's bag for a kangaroo serves as a home, a playroom, protection in case of any danger. Photo wallaby kangaroo cause emotion, especially if you can see the head of a baby kangaroo sticking out of the bag.
wallaby kangaroo life span natural environment is approximately 14 to 20 years old. As a pet, wallabies usually live for about 10 years, but everything will depend on food and living conditions.
On the muzzle there is a clear pattern. Kangaroos of this genus usually stand upright, leaning on their hind legs and tail, like a tripod.
Basic data:
DIMENSIONS
Body length: male 92 cm, female up to 76 cm.
Tail length: male up to 105 cm, female up to 86 cm.
Weight: male 20-25 kg, female 11-15 kg.
BREEDING
Puberty: males - from 24-30, females - from 18-24 months.
mating season: different times of the year.
Pregnancy: 36 days.
Number of cubs: 1.
LIFESTYLE
Habits: social animals; active during the day.
Food: herbs, ferns.
Sounds: in danger, the female hisses and growls.
Life expectancy: up to 18 years.
Related species
The gray-red wallaby is very similar to the described species.
In many English-speaking countries, wallabies are called "thin-tailed wallabies" because of their long, thin, pointed tail. The wallaby's tail is slightly longer than its body. Wallabies keep "upright", leaning on their hind legs and tail. 
Wallaby breeding. The female wallaby after a short pregnancy gives birth to an underdeveloped cub. It becomes able to survive only after a period of "adaptation" in the mother's pouch. The kid should develop only the forelimbs, with which he retracts into the bag. A female wallaby may mate again before the baby is old enough to leave her nest. A few days after the older cub leaves the bag, its newborn brother or sister climbs into it. The pregnancy of a female wallaby lasts only 5 weeks. The baby develops in the bag up to 8 months. Even after he leaves the mother's pouch, the child stays with his mother for another 15 months. At this time, he acquires all the necessary skills - learns to run fast, jump, recognize danger and find food. The cub also learns to care for its coat. Fights for position in the herd are a very serious test for males. Impatient young males, who have already become sexually mature, constantly hurt the elders and provoke fights, which in most cases cannot be avoided. Collisions between males occur in several stages, since the older rival is in no way inferior.
Wallaby food. The wallaby feeds on the so-called "kangaroo grass", sometimes eating various ferns. This wallaby often grazes with the gray kangaroo, but the animals feed on various types herbs and do not compete with each other. Wallaby favors certain types herbs, while others are bypassed. Wallabies graze in small herds of 2-10 animals. During feeding, they keep "upright" and present food to the mouth with their front paws. Even on days when the heat reaches its peak, the animals do not go to the river to drink, because they get all the necessary moisture from food.
wallaby they often graze during the day, while other species of kangaroo are active at dusk or at night. At noon, wallabies rest in the shade. In the evening they again go in search of food. During such searches, animals move rather slowly, such slowness is the result of the sweltering heat.
Wallaby lifestyle. Wallabies inhabit hilly plains overgrown with light eucalyptus forests, herds of these animals comb through in search of food. Deforestation of large areas of forest did not result in special influence on the number of wallabies.
Grassy plains covered with dense vegetation provide food and shelter for animals. Thanks to reserves in southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales, wallaby populations are especially numerous.
OR DO YOU KNOW THAT...
The first image of a kangaroo was published in 1770 p. , After the completion of J. Cook's expedition to Australia. The red kangaroo probably served as a model for him.
In Australia, wallabies are called "grey fliers" because they are able to move very quickly in huge leaps. In some languages, the animal is named wallaby Parry in honor of the American naturalist and discoverer, Dr. Parry, who lived in the 19th century. Another name for a wallaby is, for example, a "pretty-faced" wallaby.
Characteristics
Ears: Large and rounded.
Coat: Greyish-brown on the upper side of the body, whitish on the belly.
Tail: Long, thin and pointed at the end.
Muzzle: dark brown, with white stripes on the cheeks and chin.
Forelegs: with long, curved claws.
LIVING PLACE
Wallabies live in Australia in southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales.
PRESERVATION
Thanks to the organization of nature reserves and national parks wallabies are not in danger of extinction. The Australian Department of Conservation is concerned with the protection of all kangaroos, however, for preventive purposes, it allows limited shooting of this species.
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Unlike common Australian kangaroos, data are smaller in size, which is why they are sometimes kept at home. An adult weighs 8–14 kg, with an average weight of 10.5 kg. In addition, the Bennet Wallaby has relatively short hind limbs and relatively large forelimbs.
Males are larger than females. The weight of adult males ranges from 11.5 to 13.7 kg, and females - from 8 to 10.6 kg. Their main body color is dark brown, and the throat, abdomen, and chin are lighter. This species of kangaroo has black legs, a grayish forehead, and the hair on the neck, muzzle, shoulders, and nape is rusty. Them feature - black spot at the base of the tail.
Distribution of mini-kangaroo
Bennett wallabies live in the tropical rainforests of Australia in a very limited area, which occupies about 4 thousand square meters. km - south of the Daintree River and north to Mount Amos.
This type of kangaroo is not without reason called arboreal, since usually these animals settle in the crowns of trees, but they can move along the ground and feed on fruits and leaves that have fallen to the ground.
Bennett wallaby food
Bennett wallabies eat the leaves of shrubs, trees, and grass. If they have enough fresh grass, they can not drink for a long time, taking moisture from it. If dry weather comes, then these small dexterous kangaroos dig up the soil with their not small forelimbs and extract succulent plant roots from it, which simultaneously serve as food and drink for them.
While eating, they stand on four legs, sometimes standing on their hind legs to inspect the surroundings. At the same time, they rely on their strong tail.
Mini kangaroo behavior
Bennett's kangaroos are agile animals. Using their prehensile tail, they can jump onto a nearby tree, even if it means flying 7-9 meters down! But this is not the limit.
If a wallaby urgently needs to descend from a tree to the ground, from a height of 18 meters, they will do it in one jump and not break. But they take such extreme descents only as a last resort or fall accidentally when they move along the branches, they instantly group in flight, so they do not get injured. Usually they go down the trunk of a tree, walking backwards.
In general, these representatives of the red-gray kangaroos are very cautious. They move around their territory mainly in the evening or in the morning, at the same time they look for food and feed, and on a hot day they rest in the shade of trees.
These kangaroos are mostly solitary. Adult males strictly guard their territory, not allowing competitors there, while females are allowed to enter. On this basis, conflicts often break out among males, so you can see a bennet wallaby with scars or even with a missing ear, which he lost in an unequal battle.
Territories of red and gray kangaroos are mainly located around big trees. During the day they are almost invisible, because during the daytime rest, they climb high on a tree, and hide behind leaves and vines.
If these kangaroos live in favorable places where food is plentiful, there are sources of water, there is no shortage of shelters, then wallabies can form groups in which a social hierarchy is established.
wallaby breeding
Bennett wallabies live in tropical forests, where there are little differences between seasons, so they breed at almost any time, but more often until July. Females give birth to only one cub.
Pregnancy lasts a little over a month, then a very small kangaroo is born, weighing 1 gram. But he clearly follows the right direction, making his way into his mother's bag, where he will feed and grow until he becomes independent. This will be when he is 9 months old. In the meantime, a few minutes after birth, he firmly clings to the nipple, from where he receives the milk he needs so much. The baby is still weak and undeveloped, he cannot even suckle. Therefore, during the first months, the mother female, contracting special muscles, injects him portions of milk into his mouth.
In the mother's bag, the baby is warm, here he continues to grow and develop. Along with this process, the composition of milk and its quantity change. In the first six months, he receives milk, in which more than half of the dry matter is carbohydrates. Then the amount of fat gradually increases, and carbohydrates practically disappear by 8-9 months.
But in the bag there is a place not only for this cub, but also for his younger brother or sister. When the newborn is a few days old, the female mates again. But this embryo will be born later than the older kangaroo. This process is very interesting regulated.
The older baby is no longer sucking milk as intensively as before, as he is already leaving the bag and begins to feed on leaves and grass. This allows the second embryo to develop again.
The female wallaby bennet has 4 nipples. A couple of days before the birth of the second baby, the mother puts things in order in her bag and so far does not allow the grown-up kangaroo to suck milk. When the younger offspring is born, gets to the bag and takes the nipple intended for him into his mouth, then the older cub can continue to be fed with milk. It will be different in quantity and composition for two cubs. What was mentioned above.
In a month, the older, older kangaroo will leave the bag. But it will still be near the mother. Grown up males leave her when they are 2 years old, and females can stay next to their mother, on her territory, all their lives. Females enter puberty at 14 months and males at 19 months.
At first glance, it seems problematic to keep a kangaroo of this species in captivity, but it is not. It is enough to build an aviary five by five meters and put there a small insulated house that he needs. There, the kangaroo will be able to hide from the rain, shelter from the wind and cold. This is how the acquired wallaby kangaroo is kept. When he gets used to the new living conditions, then he will move freely throughout the site, but when he wants, he will be able to rest again or wait out the bad weather in his small dwelling.
In winter, a bennett's wallaby will be able to endure frost down to -10 ° C, but the main thing is that the kangaroo's dwelling should be dry. Therefore, put sawdust there and lay a thick layer of hay. But the animal will not be there all the time in winter. Bennett love to wander in the snow, and they go into their home to warm up, sleep or eat.
Their winter diet in captivity consists of hay, vegetables, crackers, fruits, grains, and a certain amount of compound feed. In summer, they are fed mainly grass, adding grain and fruit. They need to give fresh branches of fruit trees with buds and leaves and acacia.
Do not forget that kangaroos are shy animals. If you have a dog, introduce your new pet gradually. After all, frightened, a kangaroo can, in a panic, running away, crash against an obstacle.
If you want to buy a kangaroo, it is better to buy a pair, and ideally - one male and two or three females, but you can buy one animal kangaroo. The price for it ranges from 100 to 200 thousand rubles. You can buy a wallaby bennet kangaroo for 1250 USD.
Then you will get an affectionate, good-natured animal, which, if treated well, will become yours. true friend for 10–12 years. That's how long they live good conditions in captivity, but less in nature.
For more information about bennett's wallaby, see this video:
Wallaby is an animal from the kangaroo family. They are widely distributed throughout Australia and have many species. What - we will analyze in this article.
Who are the Wallabies?
Wallabies are ancient animals, as evidenced by the fact that they were found on rock paintings ages 18,000 years. This is marsupials, which differ in a specific way of movement. Thanks to powerful hind legs, wallabies make jumps up to 10 meters long. The maximum jump height is 2 meters.
Wallabies are often confused with kangaroos, and this is not surprising. All animals of the kangaroo family are very similar and for the most part differ only in size. Often the word "kangaroo" generally refers to any member of the family. In fact, kangaroos are the largest representatives of kangaroos, and the smaller ones are wallabies.
The wallaby does not have a typical habitat, different species live in different natural areas however they are all on mainland Australia. Thus, a hot and dry climate is important for this animal. However, the territory of Australia is under the influence of three climatic zones, so living conditions different types wallabies are different.
wallaby kangaroo
Like large kangaroos, wallabies have a bag in which the cub spends the first months of its life. Small wallabies leave the bag and become independent only a year and a half after birth.
What are Wallabies?
There are several types of wallabies. For example: red-gray wallaby, nimble wallaby, striped hare wallaby, forest wallaby, Parry wallaby and others. Some of them are also divided into additional subspecies.
Each specific type of wallaby has distinctive features in appearance, size and lifestyle. For example, a wallaby hare weighs only two kilograms, and a nimble hare weighs all twenty. Most wallabies unite night image life. These animals come out of hiding in search of food at night, and during the day they sleep in bushes, thickets or just thick grass.
Red-and-grey wallabies are more likely to live alone, but may congregate in small groups. The nimble wallaby, on the contrary, is a herd animal. This species always keeps in groups, which include up to ten individuals. Wallaby Parry has a complex social "nesting". They live in large herds of up to 50 individuals. At the same time, the herd consists of separate groups, each of which includes up to ten animals.
The appearance of the wallaby is also different. The same wallaby Parry has a pale gray color and pure white stripes on the fur of the face. The reddish-gray wallaby has a coat of matching colors. The gloved wallaby is colored in black, white and gray tones, and also has a “tassel” at the end of the tail.
wallaby lifestyle
As mentioned above, the lifestyle of a wallaby varies depending on the species. However, there is also common features. So, all wallabies are herbivores. They feed on grass, shoots and leaves of trees, various fruits. Some species that live in the bush, when searching for food, create “branded” clearings, trampling down the soft branches of the bushes.
Wallabies, like other kangaroos, experience Negative influence person. It is a subject of hunting, therefore it is legally and illegally mined by hunters. Besides, natural conditions wallaby habitats are being disturbed as a result of the development of the Australian mainland, the development of industry and transport.
All this leads to the fact that some types of wallabies have become very limited territories. For example, the striped wallaby hare, which lived freely on the mainland before the arrival of Europeans, has been considered extinct since 1906. Now a small number of representatives of this subspecies exist only on two islands near Australia, on which a protected regime has been declared.
Video about Wallaby
The wallaby is considered endemic to Australia. They are not a separate biological group, but a collection of varieties that consist of several genera.
2. The homeland of these mammals is considered New Guinea. Today, the main place of distribution of wallabies in Australia. Namely - in the north-east of Queensland.
3. The genus wallaby includes 6 species. Some types of wallabies are little different from bears. Of these, the bear wallaby, the Matchish wallaby, which has a subspecies of the Goodfellow wallaby, the Doria wallaby, lives in New Guinea.
4. In Australian Queensland, there are wallabies of Lumholtz (bungari), wallabies of Bennett, or tharibina.
5. Wallabies live in the tropical forests of mountainous regions, at an altitude of 450 to 3000 meters above sea level.
6. The body size of this animal is 52-81 centimeters, the tail is from 42 to 93 centimeters long. Wallabies weigh, depending on the species, from 7.7 to 10 kilograms for males and from 6.7 to 8.9 kilograms for females.
7. Wallabies are covered with long fur, soft or rough. The color depends on the specific species.
8. Sometimes wallabies are called tree kangaroos. This is due to their habit of spending a lot of time in trees.
9. This mammal has a rather original appearance. In some ways, it resembles a bear cub with some characteristic features ordinary kangaroo.
10. Among wallabies, several species are distinguished, but the appearance and habits of these animals are absolutely identical, the only difference is in their habitat. For example, there are swamp, mountain wallabies, striped, living on the islands, and so on.
Bear tree wallaby
11. Bear tree wallaby has a brown, black or gray saddle on the back and red or white belly and sides.
12. Wallabies live in flocks, in which there are several females with offspring per male. Occasionally male relatives may form groups to confront aggressive outside males.
13. The habitat of the wallaby is the jungle, although they often go to pastures and watering holes.
14. By nature, wallabies are very curious and have a very inquisitive mind.
15. Wallabies are herbivores. Wallabies feed on the only vegetation that is within their reach. It can be various herbs, leaves of shrubs, various berries.
16. Lumholtz wallabies are colored in contrast: black legs, gray or red back, white belly.
17. In Lumholtz's wallaby, calmness in the flock depends on the number of males: with one, the females live quietly together, but when the second appears, battles begin.
18. In the wild, wallabies prefer to stay in packs. However, male kangaroos do not get along well in the same flock. If you really have to share a common space, then they demonstrate their dissatisfaction with threatening poses.
19. But fights and wars for the rights of a leader in flocks of wallabies are extremely rare, since these animals are not fighters by their nature.
20. Females, in turn, can enter into a fight with each other. To avoid such conflicts, a special hierarchy reigns in the pack, where there are dominant individuals and those who are forced to obey them. This helps to avoid conflicts between tree kangaroos.
21. Wallaby Matchish - the brightest: the back is red-brown, red, and the rest of the body is yellow. Its Goodfellow variety of wallaby has yellow stripes on its body and tail.
22. Among the representatives of the wallaby there are those who need a high-quality and balanced diet. Wallabies eat only the best varieties of plants, particular preference is given to certain types of ferns and berries. At the same time, they can eat animal food in their diet.
23. The habitat of tree kangaroos are tall trees rainforest located in highlands, which are able to protect the animal from predators (for example, pythons and dingoes).
24. Having chosen one tree for a dwelling, the wallaby remains there for life, descending from it only for food.
25. Wallabies love to sleep well, especially during the daytime. They sleep for about fifteen hours, and with the advent of night they begin an active life in order to find water and food.
wallaby parry
26. Wallabies Doria have tan marks on their fur. Brown.
27. To quench their thirst, wallabies get to watering holes, however, in case of any danger, wallabies can do without water and food at all. These are quite hardy animals that can endure both thirst and hunger for some time.
swamp wallaby
28. Wallaby movements can hardly be called nimble, rather unhurried and lazy. But, despite this slowness, wallabies are quite agile and have decent agility.
29. Wallabies jump perfectly between trees, at a distance of about ten meters, and jumping from a tree twenty meters high, the animal will not receive a single injury.
30. Wallaby helps to maintain balance in flight a long tail. And short, but powerful hind legs and well-developed upper limbs with curved claws help to move along the trunks and vines.
Bennett's wallaby
31. Bennett's wallaby also has brown markings on its coat. At the same time, Bennett's wallaby has a small "bangs" on the forehead, raised hair on the back, a red patch of hair near the tail.
32.As such a season for mating games tree kangaroos do not exist - they are able to breed year-round. All this is due to the pleasant climate in the regions of their existence.
33. The male attracts the female with a song reminiscent of the clucking of a chicken. Then he starts gently stroking her head. If the female has turned her back on him and allowed herself to be stroked on her tail, she is ready to mate with him. With a successful process of rapprochement, mating takes place immediately.
34. But very often serious fights between two or even three males take place for one female. From the outside, such confrontations look like real fights without rules.
35. Wallabies also move well on the ground - in short jumps, throwing their body forward and maintaining balance thanks to the curved tail.
36. Wallaby kangaroos are marsupials, respectively, female wallabies carry their cubs in special bags.
37. Before the birth of offspring, each expectant mother takes care of the future habitat of her child.
38. Kangaroo mothers thoroughly wash their bags, lick them, because here she will carry her baby.
39. Kangaroo pregnancy itself lasts about a month, about 30 days. The offspring of wallaby kangaroos, they are also called joeys, are born very tiny, their size at the time of birth is approximately two centimeters. But they are already capable of the first journey they make, reaching the mother kangaroo's pouch.
40. Tiny babies do this with the help of very thin and sharp claws, with which they deftly cling to the wool on the mother's belly.
41. Babies spend their first eight months of life in their mother's pouch. Initially, females feed them for about 80 days.
42. A mother's bag for a kangaroo serves as a home, a playroom, protection in any danger.
43. The life expectancy of a wallaby in its natural environment is approximately 14 to 20 years.
44. Wallabies love to travel through the dense vegetation of the rainforest and explore new territories, constantly pushing boundaries.
45. Some species prefer to do this exclusively at night, and in general, they lead an active lifestyle mainly in the dark.
Wallaby - pet
46. The wallaby animal is very surprising and unusual, this is also proved by the fact that they can be kept as a pet.
47. Wallabies are very easy to communicate with humans and can be easily tamed. However, for this, the animal must be removed from the wild at a very young age, and preferably in infancy, and fed and raised on its own.
48. As a pet, wallabies usually live for about 10 years, but everything will depend on food and living conditions.
49. The word wallaby is the name of this animal, which was given to it by the natives who lived in the past on the territory of modern Sydney.
50. Many of the wallaby species are on the verge of extinction, as sad as it is to admit, but, for example, striped wallabies are left to live only on two islands off the west coast of Australia.