What is a western grey kangaroo?
The western grey kangaroo is a large kangaroo of southern and western Australia, ranging from Western Australia across South Australia into western Victoria and New South Wales.
Western greys have chocolate-brown to grey-brown fur and a darker face than eastern greys. Males can weigh up to about 50 kilograms or more. They are found in woodlands, heath, scrub and farmland.
Mature males have a strong smell, which has earned them the nickname stinker. They live in mobs and graze mainly at night and around dawn and dusk.
Where to see them
Lucky Bay near Esperance and Kangaroo Island are famous places to see western greys. On Kangaroo Island, a darker subspecies lives.
Western greys are common across their range.
They overlap with eastern greys in parts of New South Wales and Victoria.
Like other kangaroos, females usually raise one joey at a time, and the young stays in the pouch for about ten months. Western greys can survive on dry vegetation and are found in many national parks, including the Perth suburbs' bushland reserves such as Yanchep National Park, where they graze on lawns near picnic areas. Their range has expanded in some areas as farm dams have provided more water.
Did You Know?
The Kangaroo Island kangaroo is a subspecies of the western grey kangaroo.