he red-necked wallaby, (Macropus rufogriseus) also called the Bennett's Wallaby, is a medium-sized marsupial native to Eastern Australia and Tasmania. As a member of the kangaroo family it shares the distinctive appearance of large, muscular hind legs and tail, comparatively small forearms, large ears and a blunt snout. The red-necked wallaby has grey fur with a red-brown tinge and a paler underside. The fur on its ear tips, around its nose, and on its feet is black. This species is sexually dimorphic, with males being larger than females. Male red-necked wallabies stand 76cm to 93cm tall, with a 69cm to 88cm long tail, and weigh between 15kg and 26.8kg. Females are 66cm to 80cm tall, have a 62cm to 78cm long tail, and weigh 11kg to 15.5kg. The red-necked wallaby is not endangered and its numbers are currently increasing, although it has been persecuted as a pest and hunted heavily for its meat and furs in the past. There are several wild populations in Europe and New Zealand that have been deliberately released or were founded by escapees from local wildlife parks. The red-necked wallaby is a generally solitary animal, but will gather in groups in areas where food and shelter are plentiful. The breeding season of red-necked wallabies lasts from December until May, although animals in areas with an abundance of food may breed year-round. When a female is in oestrus, males will track her and fight for the right to mate first. Courtship involves the male and female sniffing and rubbing on each other, and engaging in a brief fight before she allows the male to mate with her. Subordinate males may mate with her afterwards. The male and female remain together for a day after mating before parting ways. Gestation lasts around 30 days, after which the female gives birth to an extremely tiny, underdeveloped joey that will crawl along its mother’s belly into her pouch. There, it will remain and suckle until it is around 7 months old. By then it has developed drastically and emerges from the pouch for the first time. The joey begins eating grasses and other solid foods, but may return to its mother’s pouch for milk and comfort until around 9 months old. At this point, it is fully weaned and will not return to the pouch. Soon after, the mother may already mate again or become pregnant through delayed implantation, using the sperm from her last mating event. The joey remains with its mother until the onset of sexual maturity at 12 to 18 months old. Female red-necked wallabies reach sexual maturity slightly earlier than males, at 13 months compared to 18 months.
