Bennett's wallaby
The Red-necked wallaby (Notamacropus rufogriseus) is a medium-sized macropod marsupial, common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Its name comes from the reddish fur on its shoulders and nape.
Red-necked wallabies are distinguished by their black nose and paws, white stripe on the upper lip, and grizzled medium grey coat with a reddish wash across the shoulders. They are very similar in appearance to the Black-striped wallaby (Notamacropus dorsalis), the only difference being that Red-necked wallabies are larger, lack a black stripe down the back and have softer fur.
Red-necked wallabies live in eastern Australia from New South Wales to the Queensland border area, through to South Australia, and in Tasmania. There is also a large introduced population in New Zealand, and small colonies in Scotland, England, Ireland, and France. Red-necked wallabies inhabit coastal scrub and sclerophyll forest with a shrub understorey and nearby open grassy areas.
Red-necked wallabies are mainly solitary but will gather together when there is an abundance of resources such as food, water or shelter. When they do gather in groups, they have a social hierarchy similar to other wallaby species. The males are aggressive towards each other and fight by “boxing” well after becoming fully mature. Grooming and play take place amongst individuals of a similar ranking. Red-necked wallabies are mainly nocturnal animals and spend most of the daytime resting. They cool off by licking their paws and forearms when they are nervously excited or in hot weather. They are not very vocal, tending to use actions and body language to communicate. They growl, chatter, and hiss if provoked.
Red-necked wallabies are herbivores and their die consists of grasses, roots, tree leaves, and weeds.
Red-necked wallabies are polygynandrous (promiscuous) when two or more males mate with two or more females. The breeding season takes place from December until May, but in areas with better resources can occur year-round. Gestation lasts for 30 days and one young is born to each mating female. A newborn must crawl to its mother’s pouch, where it will nurse continually for about 7 months. The young are not very developed when born and they complete a large part of their growth in the pouch. At about 7 months old they are large enough to stay out of the pouch for a short time. They are completely weaned at the age of 10-12 months. Females may stay in their birth range for life but males leave when they are 2 years old. Females become reproductively mature at about 14 months of age and males at 19 months.
There seem to be no big threats to this species. In Tasmania and New Zealand, however, these animals are sometimes killed under license due to being a pest of crops or pasture, and they are commercially harvested for meat.
The IUCN Red List and other sources do not provide the Red-necked wallaby total population size, but it appears to be stable. Currently, this species is classified as least concern (LC).