What Is The Difference Between Kangaroos And Wallabies?

What is the difference between kangaroos and wallabies? The land of Australia is well known for breaking the rules. From its fairly remote location on the world map, to its geography, and of course its wildlife, the marsupials are one such peculiar group, consisting of many interesting creatures, big and small. Today's video focuses on two of Australia's iconic marsupials, kangaroos and wallabies. We'll run through some of the basic information and taxonomical classification and look at a few examples. By the end of the video, you'll be an expert at telling the two apart. With that out of the way, mates, let's take a trip to the land down under. Kangaroos Kangaroos are the largest members of the marsupial family Macropodidae, along with a number of other animals collectively known as macropods. As the name suggests, macro means large, while pod refers to leg or foot. Looking at kangaroos and their cousins, or more specifically, their feet, it's easy to see why early taxonomists just grouped them under this term. Yet there is still a bit of confusion when it comes to separating kangaroos from other kangaroo-like macropods. So, for the sake of simplicity, the standard thing these days is to refer to the four largest macropod species as kangaroos. That means we have the red kangaroo, Osphrantor rufus, the western gray kangaroo, Macropus fuliginosus, the eastern gray kangaroo, Macropus gigantus, and the antelopine kangaroo, Osphrantor antelopinus, as the true kangaroos of Australia. That said, we also have tree kangaroos, animals that break the whole largest macropods are kangaroos rule. Though still macropods, these little guys are wholly adapted to life in the trees, with super soft feet, curly claws, and powerful gripping tails that support their arboreal lifestyles. There are 14 tree kangaroo species, all of which belong to the Dendrolagus genus. Most live in the jungles of New Guinea, but a couple of species live in northeast Australia. While tree kangaroos are awesome and interesting critters, we'll be focusing more on their larger terrestrial cousins for the sake of today's video. Terrestrial kangaroos are widespread throughout Australia, with their total numbers somewhere in the tens of millions. Different species prefer different kinds of environments. The red kangaroo, which is the largest macropod and marsupial in Australia, loves the boundless freedom of open grasslands and sparse scrubland. Gray kangaroos, meanwhile, prefer more wooded areas but are able to adapt to a wide range of environments, including human settlements, towns, and cities. Antelopine kangaroos prefer the tropical grasslands of northern Australia, where the grass is perennial. Despite differences in habitat preferences, kangaroos are quite similar in almost every way. Their most iconic trait is their hopping, a style of locomotion that we all tried to copy at least once as kids, and maybe even as kids at heart. Kangaroos move this way thanks to their powerful spring-like hind legs that work in unison to get them from point A to B at speeds of 30 miles per hour. Their jumping prowess is, as you can imagine, pretty much unrivaled. A red kangaroo can easily cover 30 feet in a single bound. As far as vertical jumping, kangaroos can reach heights of 6 feet on average, while the big red kangaroo can clear 10 feet. While the legs provide the horsepower of a roo's mobility, the tail provides the handling. As Enzo Ferrari once said, power is nothing without control, and kangaroos live by these words daily. Their long, powerful tails act like stabilizers, allowing them to manipulate their centers of gravity and maintain balance. When not in full flight, kangaroos move in short swings hinged on their forelimbs, with the tail also providing rear support. It's kind of similar to how a person with crutches moves without the tail, of course. A kangaroo's tail can also work like a third leg in certain situations, particularly violent ones. Males, called bucks, are especially prone to fighting, be it each other or perceived threats. When fighting, kangaroos lean backwards on their tails, which allows them to raise their strong hind legs and thrust them at an opponent. This can cause nasty damage, either via blunt force or through their long claws. A number of have been injured by kangaroos in this way. As far as diet, kangaroos are herbivores. Grazers, to be specific, since most of their diet consists of grass. They even have specialized teeth for tackling their favored food, allowing them to nibble grass close to the ground and chew it efficiently. Experts believe kangaroos have been successful in the face of mass deforestation and habitat loss because the pasture lands that replaced these old forests are actually great sources of food. Any cattle or sheep farm in Australia is likely to have a few kangaroo visitors from time to time, especially if the grass is good. In lean times, kangaroos can become an unwanted nuisance, and farmers are known to take matters into their own hands. Apart from humans and perhaps dingoes, kangaroos have no natural predators in Australia. Offspring, known as joeys, are especially vulnerable, but that's why they rarely leave their mother's marsupial pouches until they can hop quickly on their own. When not grazing or running from trouble, kangaroos like to hang out with their own kind. They are quite social and often form groupings called mobs or troops. In Australia, the largest mobs are often found in the east, which generally offers more grazing and water access than the western half of the country. When resources are plentiful, mobs stick together for a long time. When they are not, kangaroos live in smaller, more intimate family groupings or even go solitary for a while. Like most mammals, reproduction is a highly political affair. The biggest males usually get the girls in heat, and violence often breaks out between competing males. In addition to the tail-balanced kicking, male roos will paw at each other with their forelimbs, a technique known as boxing. Like with human boxing, bouts can be over in seconds or continue for round after round after round. Wallabies Wallabies are small to mid-sized macropods that make up the bulk of the macropodidae family. They are essentially small terrestrial kangaroos and are often confused for their larger cousins. After all, they look like kangaroos, hop like them, and even fight like them. In some cases, they are even classified in the same genera as some kangaroo species. The word wallaby is therefore used to refer to a kangaroo-like macropod smaller than an actual kangaroo. Generally, wallabies are anywhere between 17.8 and 41 inches long, excluding the tail. The smallest true kangaroo, the western grey, is between 33 and 43 inches, excluding the tail, while red kangaroos can grow to 5 feet and 3 inches, excluding the tails. There are several categories of wallaby, brush, rock, scrub, hair, nail tail, and swamp. Brush wallabies live in forests and scrubland, while rock wallabies prefer rocky terrain, hills and cliffs. Today we have 8 brush species, 19 known rock species, 2 nail tails, 2 hair wallabies, 7 scrub wallabies, and 1 swamp wallaby species. Like kangaroos, wallabies are largely native to various parts of Australia, while a few others live in New Guinea. There are also introduced populations in New Zealand and Hawaii, but human intervention doesn't count. Unlike kangaroos, wallabies have suffered greatly at the hands of humans, particularly through habitat destruction. Several species have gone extinct in the few hundred years following the arrival of European settlers. Overhunting and new predatory animals like dogs, cats, and foxes have done a real number on these little guys. Road accidents also claim at least a dozen wallabies each year. As far as diet, wallabies are herbivorous creatures, though their palates are a bit more varied than kangaroos. They eat grass, leaves, and veggies like cabbage. They will also eat roots and root vegetables like sweet potatoes and carrots if water is in short supply. Their teeth lack the same grazing specializations found in true kangaroos. They can be social, solitary, or live in pairs. Groups of three or more adults are called mobs or troops too, and the solidity of a mob depends on available resources. Also like kangaroos, wallabies are a hoppy bunch. Their macropod legs allow them to jump and move quickly while their tails provide balance. This rapid mobility is crucial for evading predators and covering lots of ground in the never-ending quest to find water in Australia's blazing wildlands. In modern times, some wallabies have learned to stick close to human settlements like farms or towns to access water from reservoirs, tanks, and boreholes. A few brave wallabies have even been known to steal a drink from sleeping dogs' pet bowls. A classic marsupial, wallabies make use of pouches when rearing young. These babies, also called joeys, live in their mom's pouches until they can rely on their own mobility. Though very vulnerable to predation, wallabies are not entirely defenseless, and the larger ones can even be dangerous to people. Again, they rely on their powerful legs to kick a would-be attacker. When fighting each other, wallabies will kick and box until someone gives up and flees. Males within a species do most of the fighting, especially during breeding periods. However, wallabies of either sex will fight each other for scarce resources like water in some cases. Key Differences The first difference between kangaroos and wallabies is size. Kangaroos are the largest macropods around, with the red kangaroo being far larger than any wallaby. However, size isn't always the easiest way to tell these animals apart, because the largest wallabies have a bit of an overlap with the smallest roos where size is concerned. Another difference is coloration. Kangaroos usually have one main color on their sides and backs, with a secondary color like white towards the underbelly and chest. Red kangaroos, for example, have a rust-red color that goes pale towards their fronts. Wallabies, in contrast, can be a touch more colorful, with much more color variation than kangaroos. Even the gray ones can have splashes of white, black, and other colors. There are also differences in leg structure. Kangaroos have especially long legs, even relative to body size, because they are built for top speed and sheer jumping power. Wallabies also have long legs, but theirs are slightly more compact to facilitate greater agility in the forests they favor. Next is dentition. Kangaroos have curved incisors with high crowns to help them cut grass when feeding. Their molars are curved as well to help them dice the grass further. Meanwhile, wallaby teeth are flat to allow them to grind the leaves and roots they eat. Wallabies have a single cutting tooth on their upper jaws.