What is the tammar wallaby?
Q: What is the tammar wallaby?
A: The tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii) is a small species of wallaby from Australia.
Q: Who was the first European to see them?
A: Francisco Pelsaert, captain of the Batavia, saw them when the ship was wrecked on the Abrolhos Islands in 1629.
Q: How many sub-species are there?
A: There are three sub-species of tammar wallaby: M. e. eugenii from mainland South Australia, M. e. derbianus from Western Australia and M. e. decres, also known as the darma or dama wallaby, from Kangaroo Island, South Australia.
Q: What caused their extinction on mainland South Australia?
A: Extinction has been caused by habitat destruction, hunting and foxes.
Q: Where did a population of these wallabies end up in 1998?
A: In 1998 a small population of South Australian wallabies was found living on Kawau Island near Auckland in New Zealand.
Q: What do they eat mainly?
A: Tammar wallabies eat mainly grass and herbs but have been known to survive by drinking seawater in dry areas.
Q: How big are they approximately?
A:Tammar Wallabies are about 50 centimetres (19.7 inches) in height with dark grey brown fur and reddish colour on their arms and sides with pale grey fur on their bellies which may also have a feint white line on their cheeks .
Q:What is unusual about their breeding pattern ?
A:The tammar wallaby has an unusual breeding pattern where fertilized eggs remain dormant inside the mother until the summer solstice when foetal development restarts - this is called "embryonic diapause". All young are born at same time around 31 days later at end of January or beginning February .
