Studies of Macropodidae in Queensland. 4. Social organization of the grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus).

Abstract

Small mobs of the grey kangaroo are family groups. The relationships involved are those between a female and her young of the previous year, which may persist for a year, and the sexual association between a male and female, which is transient and related to the time of oestrus of the female. Larger mobs are feeding groups formed by coalescence of the smaller family units. Adult males and juveniles are irregularly distributed among mobs, and for a random sample from a kangaroo population, collections should be made from mobs of all sizes.