Between them, the kangaroos range over most of Australia.

  In some areas there may be only one species while in other places several species occur.

reds and greys may feed in large mobs - size depends on the quality of food

most active at dawn and dusk; relatively inactive in middle of both day and night

time spent grazing varies seasonally between 7 and 14 hours

rest during the day in the shade of woodland; move onto grasslands to feed

eat a variety of plants but mainly grasses

kangaroos are unique in being the only large animals that use hopping for locomotion

they walk at slow speeds and start hopping as speed increases

when hopping starts its costs are high

as speed increases, the energy costs change little which means that a kangaroo hopping at a moderate speed (>15 km/hr) uses less energy than a similarly-sized animal that is running

for red kangaroos, the most comfortable speed is 20-25 km/hr

as speed increases up to about 40 km/hr, the hopping rate remains constant but the length of the hop increases

although red kangaroos can hop at speed of 65-70 km/hr for short distances, at these speeds the hopping rate increases as well as the hop length

while hopping has benefits in energy expenditure at high speed, at low speeds (below 6 km/hr) they have an awkward walk using their hind legs with the tail providing additional support for the front legs, and this is both clumsy and energetically expensive

reds, euros, wallaroos - breed continuously under good conditions; greys are usually seasonal breeders

marsupial reproduction depends on lactation to nourish the poorly developed young; consequently, female marsupials have a greater investment in the care of their young

females coming into oestrus extend their area of activity to attract the largest male in that area; so, a large male will be able to mate with more females

there are indications that a female (of some species) may invest less in male offspring in years when conditions are poor and that this explains the increased male mortality of young males; the reasoning behind this is that to be a successful breeder a male needs to be large and males raised in poor seasons will never become the dominant male, whereas a female produced during a poor season will still breed and pass on her mother's genes

young first emerges from the pouch usually by falling out; this occurs after 185 days in reds, up to 298 days for western greys

mother's muscles control pouch size and opening; when she is alarmed, the pouch is pulled tight against her body so that the joey cannot emerge; she can relax the pouch and let the joey fall out; she can also contract the pouch and tip the joey out

joeys entering the pouch complete a somersault and end up facing the pouch opening

even after permanent emergency, the joey will continue to suckle on its usual teat for some months

generally sedentary, home range (the area covered by an individual in the normal activities of feeding, mating, and caring for young) of a few kilometres across; home ranges are not defended

show fidelity to the home range, often returning after being forced away to find food in other places during drought