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Wallaby

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The wallaby is a small to medium sized marsupial found on the Australian continent and its surrounding islands. Today there are a number of wild wallaby populations inhabiting other areas around the world where the wallaby has been introduced by humans.

The wallaby is most closely related to Australia's largest marsupial, the kangaroo. The wallaby is generally smaller than a kangaroo although some wallaby individuals have been known to reach 6ft tall.

There are roughly 30 different species of wallaby found in a variety of habitats throughout the Australian continent. The habitats of wallaby are so diverse that wallaby species are often named after their habitat. This includes the rock wallaby, the brush wallaby and the shrub wallaby. Other wallaby species such as the hare wallaby, are named after their size and appearance.

The wallaby has strong and powerful back legs which the wallaby hops on in order to move about. The forearms of the wallaby are much smaller as they are mainly used for feeding and occasionally to help with balance. The tail of the wallaby is often as long as the wallaby's body and plays a critical role as a balance aid and is often used in self-defence.animal that forages on the ground for seeds and fallen fruits. Grasses make up the bulk of the wallaby's diet along with leaves from low trees and shrubs and berries. The wallaby is a very sociable animal and can often be seen foraging for food with other wallaby individuals.

Due to its relatively large size, the wallaby has few natural predators within its environment. Canines such as dingos and foxes are the main predators of the wallaby along with large reptiles such as crocodiles and snakes. The wallaby is able to defend itself against predators by hitting them with its long, powerful tail.

The wallaby is a marsupial meaning that the female wallaby has a pouch on her tummy in which to raise her young. The female wallaby gives birth to a single baby wallaby (occasionally twins), known as a joey, after a gestation period of only a month. The joey then crawls up into its mother's pouch, where it is cared for and nurtured until it is fully developed.

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Wallaby Facts

Kingdom: A level of classifying all living things on earth, as similar species are broken into 5 groups including plants, animals and fungi....	Animalia
Phylum: A level of classifying animals within the animal kingdom. Phylum are further divided into subgroups called classes....	Chordata
Class: A level of classifying animals in a phylum. Classes are then sub-divided into further groups known as orders....	Mammalia
Order: A level used to classify animals. Classes are broken into sub-groups known as order, which are broken down further into families....	Diprotodontia
Family: A level of classifying animals within an order. Orders are broken down in families and families are broken down further into smaller groups called genus....	Macropodidae
Genus: A level of classifying animals within a family. Families are divided into sub-groups called genus which generally contain one or two animal species....	Macropus

Scientific Name:	Macropus
Type:	Mammal
Diet:	Herbivore
Size:	30-180cm (12-71in)
Weight:	1-20kg (2.2-44lbs)
Top Speed:	48km/h (30mph)
Life Span:	12-15 years
Lifestyle:	Herd
Conservation Status: The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation s...	Least Concern

Colour:	Grey, Brown, White, Tan, Red
Skin Type:	Fur
Favourite Food:	Grasses
Habitat: The term habitat is used to describe a specific area where a particular animal lives, within an environment. Many animals have adapted to requiring specific conditions which can only be found in their natural habitat su...	Forest and shrubland
Average Litter Size:	1
Main Prey: When an animal is referred to prey, it means that the animal is either hunted or caught for food. Animals that are referred to as prey are generally hunted by bigger animals, although there are a number of exceptions....	Grasses, Fruits, Seeds, Leaves
Predators: When an animal is referred to as a predator, it means that the animal either hunts or catches other animals. Predatory animals are generally dominant within their environment and will generally hunt animals smaller than...	Dingo, Fox, Large reptiles
Special Features:	Very sociable animal with a long tail

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