Red-necked Wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus) Fact Sheet: Diet & Feeding

• Primarily a grazer (Sprent & McArthur 2002) but also a browser (Tyndale-Biscoe 2005)
  • Grasses comprise 74% of total diet in a Tasmanian population studied
  • Also eat broad-leafed plants (non-grass forbs)
• In a study of the effects of pasture burning on grazing habits in New South Wales, Australia at Wallaby Creek (Southwell & Jarman 1987):
  • Cattle, kangaroos and red-necked wallabies each responded to fire impacts differently
  • Kangaroos returned to burned areas within days and fed on new green grass shoots
    • Their mouths and teeth are well-suited to clipping small clumps of shoots
  • Cattle abandoned pastures for the first month, returning during the second month and had peak use in the third month
    • They are bulk-feeders; need big mouthfuls of grass to chew in each bite
  • Red-necked wallabies didn't increase their use of burned areas until several months after a burn
    • Wallabies may have sought emerging flowers or seed heads
  • Kangaroos and wallabies both showed a decline in use of the pasture during times when cattle were present

A red-necked wallaby munching on leaves.

Image credit: © San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. All rights reserved.

Southwell & Jarman (1987)
Sprent & McArthur (2002)
Tyndale-Biscoe (2005)