Parma Wallaby - Macropus parma
Habitat:
Rainforest and sclerophyll forests with a dense understory and grassy areas
Range:
New South Wales
Activity Cycle:
Nocturnal
Features:
They have a grayish brown back and shoulders, a white throat and chest and a dark stripe along their spine. They have a distinct white stripe on their cheeks (looks like a mustache) and most possess a white tip on their tail. The males are larger than the females.
Size:
Smallest of the Macropus family, they reach heights of between 17-21 inches, with their tail equaling that length, and weighing between 7-13 pounds.
Social Structure:
They are considered solitary, though you can find 2-3 gathered if there is enough food.
Life Expectancy:
up to 15 years
Diet:
low vegetation and grazing on grass
Reproduction:
Single young are born after gestation of 35 days. Leaves the pouch at about 6-7 months and is fully weaned at 8-9 months.
Status:
Listed as “lower risk/near threatened” on the IUCN Red List and are listed as endangered with the USFWS. They are in Appendix II of CITES and are in an AZA Species Survival Plan.
Interesting Facts:
- Females can produce two types of milk, one for newborns and one for young who are being weaned
- Parmas were thought to be extinct until a group was found on an island in New Zealand in 1965. They were going to be re-introduced until a group was found in New South Wales in the 1970s.
- Difference between kangaroos and wallabies: size. Kangaroos are normally 42 inches or above and wallabies are 42 inches and below, size of their feet (kangaroos are bigger) and tail (the kangaroos tail is usually thicker). Wallabies also tend to be more colorful.
AZA cooperatively manages this species as a Species Survival Plan® Program.
Video:
Socialize
