Wallabies are some classic Australian animals that have given names to airline companies and rugby union teams, but what is a wallaby? A wallaby basically means a small kangaroo. Wallabies are medium-sized macropods that weigh less than 25 kg and unlike kangaroos, most of them need a shelter. Like with other marsupials, their young are called "joey". On this page you find some wallaby pictures, and facts about Bridled Nailtail Wallaby, Banded Hare Wallaby and other species of wallaby in Australia, as well as information about what do wallabies eat and where are wallaby habitats.
Agile Wallaby, aka Sandy Wallaby Agile Wallaby (Macropus agilis) is a 850mm-long, up to 27kg-heavy sandy brown animal with black ear edges and tail tip. It breeds all year around. Female gives birth to a tiny baby 30 days after mating and the young stays in the pouch for 7-8 months. Females mature at 12 months, males at 14. It is found across the northern coast of Australia, from Rockhampton in the east to Broome in Kimberleys in the west. It lives in open forest, woodland and grassland where it eats grass, leaves and fruit, and is known to dig up grass roots from 30cm below the surface. It is a social animal, lives in groups of 10 and forms a mob when feeding.
Dama Wallaby, aka Tammar Wallaby Dama Wallaby (Macropus eugenii) is a small animal, weighing max 10kg, with a dark grey-brown fur. It is found mostly on islands but there are a few mainland populations in south-western WA. They live in woodlands, scrublands and dry Eucalypt forests. They are mostly solitary but can sometimes be seen in groups when feeding. They eat grass and leaves. Breeding season is December to March, and young stays in pouch for about 9 months. They live up to 14 years and the species status is secure.
Australian Wallabies - Western Brush Wallaby Western Brush Wallaby (Macropus irma) is a pale grey animal, 1200mm long and weighs 7-9kg. Its face is dark except the white stripes on cheeks. It lives in open forests and woodland in south-western WA. It is a solitary animal and it eats grass. It breeds between March and May, and its young stay in pouch for 6-7 months.
Australian Wallabies - Parma Wallaby Parma Wallaby (Macropus parma) is a pale grey-brown animal with white chest, white stripes on cheeks and a dark stripe from head to back. It can be up to 550mm long and weigh up to 6kg. It’s found along Great Dividing Range in New South Wales from Gibraltar Range to Watagan Mountains. It lives in Eucalypt forests where it eats grass and herbs. It is nocturnal and solitary but may feed in couples. Its breeding season is January to June, young is born 35 days after mating, and stays in pouch for 30 weeks. It is a vulnerable species that was thought to be extinct until it was found in 1960s.
Black-striped Wallaby, aka Scrub Wallaby Black-striped Wallaby (Macropus dorsalis) is a brown animal with a black stripe from forehead to back. Males can be much larger than females and weigh up to 20kg. It is a very social animal, forms groups of 20 that don’t even split up when alarmed. They live in forest and woodland where they eat grass and leaves in the scrubby undergrowth. Female gives birth to a baby 33-35 days after fertilisation, and the young stays in the pouch for seven months. Females mature at 14 months, males at 20. They live up to 15 years and they are found in northern New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland from Sydney in south to Mackay in north and a fair bit into inland.
Whiptail Wallaby, aka Pretty-faced Wallaby Whiptail Wallaby (Macropus parryi) is a large animal, up to 850mm long and weighs up to 26kg. It is light to brownish grey, has a dark face and white cheek stripes. It is found in coastal Queensland and northern New South Wales. It lives in open eucalypt forests in hilly country, where it eats grass, herbs and ferns. Female gives birth to young about 35 days after mating and the young stays in pouch for 37 weeks. The species status is secure.
Australian Wallabies - Red-necked Wallaby There are two sub-species of Red-necked Wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus). The mainland subspecies, Macropus rufogriseus banksianus, is found in Southern Victoria, western New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland. It lives in eucalypt forests where it eats grasses and herbs. It is grey to reddish brown with black paws. It breeds all year around and the young is born 30 days after fertilisation. The young stays in pouch for 280 days and is independent by 12-17 months.
Australian Wallabies - Bennett’s Wallaby The Tasmanian and Bass Straight Islands subspecies, Macropus rufogriseus rufogriseus is commonly known as Bennett’s Wallaby. It is similar to the mainland subspecies but has a browner neck and a longer and darker fur. It breeds from January to July and the young takes the same time to develop as this of the mainland subspecies. It lives in forests and woodlands and eats grass and herbs. Species status of both "red-necks" is secure.
Australian Wallabies - Banded Hare Wallaby Banded Hare Wallaby (Lagostrophus fasciatus) is one of the smallest of Australian wallabies that weighs about 1.7kg. It is a nocturnal and social animal, and it eats fruit and grass. Its breeding season is between December and September, and one young is born a few months after fertislisation. The young stays in pouch for six months, and is independent after nine months. Banded Hare-wallaby used to be found in the mainland Australia (South Australia and Western Australia), but today it is only restricted to a few islands in Western Australia (Bernier Island and Dorre Island). It is thought that the causes for its disappearance from the Australian mainland are habitat loss, and competition with and predation by introduced animals.
Bridled Nailtail Wallaby, aka Bridled Nail tailed Wallaby, Flashjack Bridled Nailtail Wallaby (Onychogalea fraenata) is a grey wallaby, with a bridled stripe along the back. It can grow up to 1m long and weight 4-7kg. It lives in open Eucalypt forest where it eats grass, herbs and flowering plants. Bridled Nailtail Wallaby is a solitary nocturnal animal and the female gives birth to one young 23 days after fertilisation. The young stays in the pouch for four months. Bridled Nailtail Wallaby was thought to be extinct since 1930s, but was rediscovered in 1973 and is now found in rare locations around Dingo in central Queensland.
Where to See Australian Wallabies Australian Wallabies are easy to see grazing in the wild, particularly at dusk and dawn, but as it is hard to get really close to wild wallabies, you can do that in Australia’s many zoo parks and animal sanctuaries like Melbourne Zoo, Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane, Australia Zoo on the Sunshine Coast, Billabong Sanctuary south of Townsville and Kuranda Wildlife Noctarium north of Cairns, along with other Australian animals. In most of these parks you can buy a bag of kangaroo food and feed them.
NOTE: This website is written in British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all correct in the language used in Australia.
