Western Gray Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus) Fact Sheet: Distribution & Habitat

Only found in southern Australia

• Endemic to southern Australia, from Shark Bay east to southwest Queensland (Eldridge and Coulson 2015)
• Range includes west New South Wales and west Victoria (Eldridge and Coulson 2015)
• Also, Kangaroo Island, South Australia (Eldridge and Coulson 2015)
• M. f. fuliginosus endemic to Kangaroo Island (Burbidge et al. 2016)
• Western gray kangaroos have only been known to exist in New South Wales and Queensland since 1970 (Dawson 2013)
• Closely associated with the southern winter rainfall belt of Australia (Dawson 2013)
• In the latter half of the 20^th century, moved into drier areas, possibly with more prevalent water provisioning for livestock; vegetation changes and reduced dingo predation may also be influences (Dawson 2013)
• Ranges of western and eastern gray kangaroos overlap in New South Wales, southwestern Queensland, western Victoria, and the southeastern corner of South Australia (Dawson 2013)
• Where these species co-occur, they generally use different habitat areas

(Eldridge and Coulson 2015, except as noted)

Occupy a variety of habitats

• Found in natural areas that experience rainfall or habitats near permanent water sources:
  • Woodland
  • Heathland
  • Shrubland
  • Forest
  • Mallee scrub
• Also occur in human modified habitats
  • Pastures
    • Avoids areas grazed by sheep
  • Croplands and plantations
  • Golf courses

Habitat preferences

• Prefer areas with enough cover to provide shelter from weather and predators, and open, grassy areas where they can find food
• Highest densities in landscapes with many habitat types (also Pople et al. 2007); rare in homogeneous croplands and mallee scrub
• Sexual segregation (females and males stay apart) sometimes observed, but not always
  • Garnick et al. (2016) note no differences in habitat preference between males and females during the breeding season
  • Coulson et al. (2006) found pronounced sexual segregation, with males and females using different habitats and separating into male-female groups within a habitat
    • Males used grassland habitat, whereas females used lakebed, woodland, and shrubland habitat
  • MacFarlane and Coulson (2005) also found evidence of segregation by sex among habitats during the non-breeding season

The western gray kangaroo's name is a bit misleading, as it is found in most of southern Australia.

Adapted from www.d-maps.com according to IUCN fact sheet. Click here or on map for detailed distribution (IUCN).