ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



The tail is prehensile and i 



RAT KANGAROO 



izingand carrying gr 



ith which the. mi 



every tree having one or more, they have no 

 difficulty in climbing. They also can climb an 

 ordinary two or three-inch rope with ease, or 

 even a gas or water pipe ; their serrated pads 

 enabling them to get a secure hold. Should 

 one escape on board a vessel, it quickly climbs 

 the ropes and easily gets to the mast-head. 

 These animals in their native state are more or 

 less infected witli two or three kinds of para- 

 sites and often have sore places caused by them. 

 As their food consists of leaves and various 

 shrubs, they live well in captivity. 



Wallabies 



There is little difference between kangaroos 

 and wallabies. The members of the genus 

 Macropus whose head and body are over four 

 feet in length are called kangaroos, and those 

 three feet and under, usually wallabies. One 

 of the largest of the latter is the Black-Tailed, 

 (Macropus iialabatus) measuring just under 

 three feet and the tail two feet. This animal 

 which is of rather a heavy build, and not nearly 

 so active as many of the smaller kinds, is al- 

 ways founds in scrubby country. Its color is 

 very dark brown or reddish-grey and light ru- 

 fous underneath. They formerly existed in 

 countless numbers in the densely timbered por- 

 tions of the coastal districts of New South 

 Wales and Victoria, and hundreds of thousands 



of their skins have been exported. But trap- 

 pers and settlements have so reduced their 

 numbers that they are now protected in Vic- 

 toria. During the day they usually remain well 

 hidden, coming out in the evening to feed. A 

 very closely allied variety, (M. apicalis) is 

 found in the same class of country in the coastal 

 districts of Queensland. It has shorter fur and 

 the rufous color is more intense. Probably the 

 largest of these animals is the Red-Necked 

 Wallaby. It is of more slender build than the 

 preceding species, is greyish-fawn in color, witli 

 a reddish neck and rump, and measures three 

 and one-half feet and its tail two and one-half 

 feet. It is found in the eastern parts of Aus- 

 tralia from southern Queensland to Victoria 

 where it usually inhabits the open forest 

 country. 



The Tasmania form of this wallaby, (M. 

 bennettii) has thicker and longer fur and is 

 slightly darker in shade. Its neck and rump 

 are dull brown instead of red. It also is found 

 in southern Victoria and on the islands in Bass 

 Strait. Formerly it was very plentiful, espe- 

 cially in the Islands, but now the hunters with 

 their dogs have completely exterminated them 

 also, except in Tasmania, where they still hold 

 their own in the rough parts. In captivity they 

 easily become tame and do not knock themselves 

 .[bout in the way other species often do. In 

 Victoria and south Australia, Grev's Wallaby, 



