226 AUSTRALIAN AND TASMANIAN ANIMALS 



whence they return in the rainy season to the more sandy districts. On these 

 feeding-grounds they will remain, if undisturbed, resting for hours at a time. At 

 twilight they start off for their feeding-grounds, which both at night and in the 

 early morning are often crowded with these animals. On their way, and, as a rule, 

 whenever they are on the move, they blindly follow a leader, who when once 

 started cannot be diverted from the direction chosen, and when hard pressed will 

 not hesitate to take to the water. Kangaroos are indeed good swimmers, and have 

 been known to swim against wind and stream over an arm of the sea fully two 

 miles across. On the whole, the kangaroo is a peaceful and harmless creature, but 

 in the pairing-season the old males will fight fiercely among themselves for the 

 possession of their mates, although at other times they live solitary lives. The 

 young are born a short time after the pairing-season, which usually, although by 

 no means always, takes place in January or February ; and the young, of which 

 there is never more than one at a birth, remain in the maternal pouch until old 

 enough to run with their elders. Even then, however, if danger threaten, they 

 seek safety by springing into the pouch, in which the female will carry them, 

 until she herself is so hard pressed as to be in danger of life, when she will cast 

 them away to save herself. Towards the latter part of the year the young are big 

 enough to shift for themselves, and then associate with others of the same age in 

 companies often numbering as many as fifty head. 



The great grey kangaroo aforesaid, which is common to Australia and 

 Tasmania, is a slender and somewhat gracefully built species, clothed with soft, 

 woolly hair, greyish brown above, and nearly white beneath and on the inside of 

 the legs. It is specially characterised by the hairy centre of the muzzle and the 

 shortness of the crowns of the cheek-teeth. The males stand nearly five feet in 

 height, exclusive of the tail, which measures fully a yard. These kangaroos frequent 

 open grassy valleys and districts abounding with brushwood. The great red 

 kangaroo (M. rufus), on the contrary, prefers rocky ridges and open plains, and is 

 confined to South Australia and the eastern and south-eastern parts of the continent. 

 It is distinguished by the brilliant rufous colour of the coat of the males and the 

 bluish grey fawn of that of the females. The face in both sexes is light-coloured, 

 with a whitish blotch between a pair of black whisker-like marks ; and in both 

 the tail is grey. This species is the largest of all kangaroos, attaining a total 

 length, inclusive of the tail of 42 inches, of no less than 9 feet. In a third 

 species, the antilopine kangaroo (M. antilojnnus) of North Australia, which also 

 dwells in rocky country, and resembles the red kangaroo in the form of its muzzle 

 and teeth, the coat is rufous in colour, but short, coarse, and straight, without any 

 under-fur. The face has no markings. This species measures about 8 feet in 

 total length, the body and head being nearly 5 feet and the tail 3. 



Another well-known species is the wallaroo (M. robustus), which is nearly 



similar in size, and of the same heavy build as the last, and inhabits Queensland, 



New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, and is characterised by the thick, 



coarse, and moderately long smoky brown fur. 



The wallabies or scrub-kangaroos, although of smaller size, and 

 Wallabies. =• to 



generally more brightly coloured, are nearly as good jumpers as the 



typical kangaroos. Among them is the red-necked wallaby (M. rujicollis) of 



