Kangaroo Habitat
All About The Kangaroo Habitat
All of the different species of kangaroos have different needs when it comes to kangaroo habitat. Some kangaroos live in savannas or scrubland, while others can be found in the desert or the rainforest. Some kangaroos live in the snow of the Tasmanian Mountains.
Both red kangaroos and gray kangaroos live in open woodlands and savannas. Although the word savanna originated from the word, zavanna, a sixteenth century term meaning a treeless plain, today the word savanna is used to define a habitat that includes long stretches of continuous grass, with an occasional grouping of trees and shrubs.
A savanna is in-between a desert and a rainforest. It receives too much rain to be as dry as a desert but not enough to be a rainforest. Kangaroos who live in savannas experience a dry season and a wet season. The dry season is usually accompanied by strong, hot winds while the rainy season is so wet that the low lying areas are flooded. Savannas often support grazing herds of animals. In Australia, savannas are found in the northern part of the country.
Small rat-kangaroos, known as bettongs inhabit the scrubland along the northeast coast of Australia. They about the size of a rabbit but look more like a rat. They are usually around fifteen inches long with a tail of the same length. They weight about three pounds. These rat kangaroos live in burrows in areas of open forest that have a grass floor, usually on the edge of a tropical rainforest. Bettongs eat truffles, which is a fungus that grows underground.
The habitat of rock wallabies is much different. They live in southern Australia among high vertical rock walls in the desert. The Great Victoria Desert is the largest desert in Australia and part of what is known as the Australian Outback. It is called a desert because of the lack of rain, but thousands of kinds of animals and plants make it their home.
The rainforest is also kangaroo habitat. Within its tallest trees live tree kangaroos, while down below the forest canopy you can find musky rat-kangaroos. Rainforests get between sixty and two hundred inches of rain each year. Unlike some other types of kangaroos, tree kangaroos eat leaves. Red-necked wallabies can live in both warm and colder habitat and in scrubland and open forests. They are present in both Australia and Tasmania, and feed on various grasses.
As you can see, kangaroo habitat can be diverse. Whether in Australia, Tasmania, or New Guinea, there are many kinds of habitats within which you can find kangaroos. Kangaroos have proven to be very adaptable, many times even choosing to live in suburban backyards or on golf courses.