Banded Hare-Wallaby
Banded Hare-wallaby is a marsupial found in the Australian islands. It was discovered in 1897 and belongs to Macropodidae family. Lagostrophus fasciatus is its biological name and it is a nocturnal. At present there are about 20 short faced kangaroos living in Australia and Banded Hare-wallaby is the only survivor of that group. In 1966 it was declared as racoon due to the dark stripes present on its body. And in 1994 IUCN declared Banded Hare-wallaby was declared as endangered.
Anatomy
It has 200 t0 450 mm body length with a long tail of about 350 to 400 mm. it weighed about 1.3-3 kg on an average. Banded Hare-wallaby had a very thick grey fur with yellow and silver spots all over the fur and has black stripes at lower back. It has a small face with snout popped out, dark eyes and outward pointed ears. The back two limbs are longer than the front ones. This special feature makes it easy for movement.
Habitat
Banded Hare-wallaby are found in Australian islands, specifically in Dorre and Bernier islands. They are usually seen wandering in bushes and grasslands. And they also find their place under these shrubs during the day. The places they live in generally has Mediterranean climatic condition. Some evidences say that Banded Hare-wallaby were one found in Australian mainland but now they no more exist there.
Diet
It is an herbivorous animal which largely feeds upon grass. It also eats fruits, shrubs, and other available plants in its habitat. It is during the night time that these wallaby emerge for feed.
Reproduction
Banded Hare-wallaby are quiet social unlike other wallaby. They usually move around in smaller groups. They keep themselves under the dense shrubs during the day and head out for the feed in the night time.
They attain maturity at the age of one. But it is only after age of two that they generally mate. It is usually between December to September that the young ones are born. The gestation period may last for a few months. The females reproduce one baby at a time. But this can happen twice in a year also. The new born is nurtured by its mother for about six months.
Threat
Large destruction of habitat for agricultural purpose has been the main cause of their extinction. Competition for food by goats, rabbits and other animals which have the same food habits are also a threat. And predators like cat which feed upon this animals also pose danger. All these have collectively cause the decline in the Banded Hare-wallaby population.
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