Red Kangaroo
They are also known as the red giant kangaroo and is the largest of all kangaroos, the largest terrestrial mammal native to Australia, and the largest extant marsupial. Males grow up to a head-and-body length of 1.3–1.6 m with a tail that adds a further 1.2 m to the total length. Females are considerably smaller, with a head-and-body length of 85–105 cm and a tail length of 65–85 cm. Females can weigh from 18-40 kg, while males typically weigh about twice as much at 55-90 kg. The average red kangaroo stands approximately 1.5 m.
Habitat
The Red kangaroo inhabits the arid regions of Australia's mainland, except the extreme north and extreme southwest of the country, and the east coast. It can be found in scrubland, woodland, grassland, and desert, preferring open grassy plains and the shelter and shade of scattered trees.
Diet
Red kangaroos eat only plants, preferring green herbage, such as dicotyledonous flowering plants and grasses. They can go for long periods without water by eating succulent plants that are filled with moisture.
Breeding
Red kangaroos are polygynous animals, males competing for mating opportunities with several females. They will try to have exclusive access to several females, actively driving away other males. Such competition sometimes results in boxing matches, when males hit at one another using their forepaws, and kick out with their feet. The breeding season is year-round if conditions are favourable. Females give birth usually to a single young, following a gestation period of about 32 to 34 days. When born, the joey climbs its way up through its mother's fur and into her pouch, where it remains, attached to a teat for 70 days. It first puts its head out of the pouch after 150 days, coming out for short periods after 190 days. A female lactates for about a year, carrying her joey in her pouch for around 235 days. Red kangaroos are sexually mature at 2 - 3 years old.
Population
According to the Australian Government Department of the Environment, the total number of the Red kangaroo is 11,514,298 individuals. This species numbers' are stable today and it is classified as least concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List.
Threats
The Red kangaroo is faced with no major threats, and it continues to be an abundant and widely-distributed species. Intensive agriculture would affect this species, but, as yet, not much its habitat has been affected. Some argue, however, that competition with introduced rabbits and livestock, particularly during the period of drought, could be a threat. This kangaroo is in some areas so numerous that it is commercially harvested for its hide and meat, and sometimes also is shot as a pest.
Conservation
This species is present in many protected areas. Harvesting of the species is regulated.