MACROPUS MAJOR, Shaw. 



Great Grey Kang-aroo. 



Spec. Char. — Macropus vellere corporis, superne, e cinereo fusco, apud antibrachios et abdomeji canescenti-cinereo, anti- 

 pedibus, pedibus postkis, caudceque apice nigris ; linea albescente supra labium per genas excurrenfe. 



Desa\- — -iVll tlie fur on tlie upper surface uniform greyish hrown above, passing into grisly grey on the arm and 



under surface ; a faint line of greyish white above the upper lip and along the sides of the face ; hands, feet, 



and tip of the tail black. 



Male. Female. 



feet, inches. feet, inches. 



Length from the nose to the extremity of the tail 7 10. . .5 11| 



of tail . . . .' 3 2 ... 2 A\ 



„ „ tarsus and toes, including the nail 1 3...1 i 



„ „ arm and hand, including the nails 1 6 . . . 10^- 



„ ,, face fi'om the tip of the nose to the base of the ear ... 9 . . . 8 



,, „ ear 5\- . . 5 



Macropus gig anteus, Shaw, Nat. Misc., pi. 33. 



Didelphis gigantea, Linn. Syst. Nat. Gmel., p. 109. — Schreb., t. 154. 



Kanguroo, Cook's Voy., vol. iii. p. 577. pi. 20. — Phill. Voy., pi. in p. 106. — Wliite's Voy., pi. in p. 272. 



Macropus major, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. i. p. 305. pi. 115. — Cook's First Voy., vol. iv. p. 45. pi. 2. — Desm. Nouv. 



Diet. d'Hist. Nat., torn. xvii. p. 33. 

 Kanguriis labiatus, Geoff. EncycL, pi. 21. fig. 4. — Desm. Ency. Meth. Mamm., p. 273. 

 Boomer, Forester, Old Man Kangaroo of the Colonists, Bundaary of the Aborigines of the Liverpool range. 



There can be little doubt of the present species being that noticed by our celebrated navigator Cook, in his voyage 

 round the world in 1770 ; and as I conceive all information connected with this early-known species will be interesting, 

 I shall commence my account of its history with a quotation from the above-mentioned work. 



" On Frida}^, June the tAventy-second, while stationed for a short time on the south-east coast of Australia," says Captain 

 Cook, " a party, Avho were engaged in shooting pigeons for the use of the sick of the ship, saw an animal, which they described 

 to be ' as large as a greyhound, of a slender make, of a mouse-colour, and extremely swift.' The following day the same kind 

 of animal was again seen by a great many other people. On the twenty-fourth it was seen by Captain Cook himself, who, 

 walking at a little distance from the shore, observed a quadruped, which he thought bore some resemblance to a greyhound, 

 and was of a light mouse-colour, with a long tail, and which he should have taken for a kind of wild dog, had not its extra- 

 ordinary manner of leaping, instead of running, convinced him of the contrary. Mr. Banks also obtained a transient view of 

 it, and immediately concluded it to be an animal perfectly new and undescribed. 



" The sight of a creature so extraordinary could not fad to excite, in the mind of a philosophic observer, the most ardent 

 wishes for a complete examination. These were at length gratified; Mr. Gore, one of the associates in the expedition of 

 Captain Cook, having been so fortunate as to shoot one in the course of a few days." 



Such is the earliest notice to be found relative to this fine species, of which living examples were a few years after- 

 wards brought to Europe, and have from time to time formed an interesting addition to our menageries. It is however 

 remarkable, that though it has now been introduced for so long a period, all attempts at naturahzing it have hitherto 

 proved futile ; still, from my own observations of the animal in a state of nature, I am led to believe that a small 

 degree of perseverance is alone requisite to effect so desirable an object. Should I be so fortunate as to interest 

 any who have the means, as well as the inclination, in the furtherance of this object, we may yet hope to see our large 

 parks and forests graced with the presence of this highly ornamental and singular animal. That it would bear the 

 severities of our winters is almost beyond a doubt, since in Van Diemen's Land, among other places, it resorts to 

 the bleak, wet, and frequently snow-capped summit of Mount Wellington. The kind of country which appears most 

 suitable to its nature, consists of low grassy hills and plains, skirted by thin open forests of brushwood, to the latter 

 of which, especially on the continent of Australia, it resorts for shelter from the oppressive heat of the mid-day sun. 

 Althouo-h the numbers of this large species are becoming greatly reduced in consequence of the intrusion of civilized 

 man, and though it has disappeared from those localities where he has taken up his abode, accompanied by his 

 vast flocks and herds, still the immense tracts of sterde unwatered country which characterize Australia, and present 

 physical obstacles to cultivation, will, in my opinion, for a long period afford a sufficient asylum for the preservation 

 of the race. 



It enjoys a wide range of habitat, being spread over the colony of New South Wales, the interior to the northward 

 as far as it has yet been penetrated, as well as the M'hole of the intermediate country between New South Wales and 

 South Australia, Avhere I observed it tolerably abundant; but I am induced to believe this latter district is almost the 

 boundary of its range Avestward, although, on this point, I may be in error. 



I should consider it as not, strictly speaking, a gregarious animal, as I have never seen more than six or eight 

 together, and have more frequently met with it singly or in pairs. Its senses of smelling and hearing are so exquisite 

 that it is extremely difficult of approach Avithout detection, and to effect this it is ahvays necessary to advance against 

 the wind. It broAvses upon various kinds of grasses, herbs and low shrubs, a kind of food which renders its flesh Avell- 

 tasted and nutritive. The early daAvn and evening are the periods at which it feeds, and at Avhich it is most certain 

 to be met Avith. 



Although hunted and frequently killed by the Dingo, its most formidable antagonist has hitherto been the Aborigine, 

 who employs several modes of obtaining it ; sometimes stealing upon it with the utmost caution under covert of the trees 

 and bushes, until it is Avithin the range of his spear, which is generally thrown with unerring aim ; at other times, 

 having discovered their retreat, the natives unite in a party, and, forming a large circle gradually, close in upon them 



