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How many kangaroos

1983; Volume: 14; Linguagem: Inglês

0004-9549

Graeme Caughley, Gordon C. Grigg, Jeff Short,

Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock

Between 1980 and 1982 much of Australia was surveyed from the air to estimate density and distribution of kangaroos. The area surveyed covered 5.8 million square kilometres (75% of Australia) and included most of the distribution of the three commercial species. Numbers were estimated as 8.3 million red kangaroos, Macropus rufus, 1.8 million western grey kangaroos, M. fuliginosus, and 5.0 million eastern grey kangaroos, M. giganteus. The unsurveyed eastern highlands probably hold a further 4 million eastern greys, allowing a tentative overall estimate for 1981 of 19 million kangaroos in mainland Australia. (Note added in February 2005: Because of revised correction factors, particularly for both species of grey kangaroos, it is now known that these values are under-estimates.)