Summer and Winter observations of the behaviour of the Euro Macropus robustus (Gould)

Abstract

Types of habitat in which euros were seen during the day in summer in the far west of New South Wales are described. At air temperatures between 32.5 and 42.5ºC, more animals were seen in shelters among a rocky outcrop providing almost complete protection from solar radiation than among dense tree-shrub shelters which did not afford the same degree of protection. At lower air temperatures, more animals were seen in tree-shrub shelters. The most noticeable features of the behaviour of the animals in these shelters were the relatively high proportion of time spent standing crouched and the time spent licking forelimbs and abdomen in relation to any other grooming activity. Time spent licking tends to increase at higher temperatures, and there is also a slight positive correlation between time spent standing and temperature.