Methods for Small-Scale Surveys of Grey Kangaroo Populations

Abstract

Small-scale survey methods which have previously been applied to grey kangaroos were evaluated on a population of known size. The total population size of free-ranging eastern grey kangaroos, Macropus giganteus, on Rotamah Island in the Gippsland Lakes of Victoria was determined by a drive count. Two types of small-scale survey methods were evaluated against this total: line transect counts and faecal pellet counts. The line transect estimates were not significantly different from the known population size, and grey kangaroos appear to meet the critical conditions of the models. Counts of individual faecal pellets gave an acceptable estimate of population density, whereas counts based on pellet groups had significant positive bias.