Numbers and Distribution of Kangaroos in the Queensland Pastoral Zone

Abstract

Kangaroos were censused in the pastoral zone of Queensland (537000 km2) and in an area abutting it to its west (90000 km2) during the winter of 1980. Red kangaroos, Macropus rufus, occurred throughout the survey area but concentrated in its south-west, and also to the west of Winton. Eastern greys, Macropus giganteus, attained high or very high densities in the south-east of the survey area, with medium densities along its eastern margin. Numbers within the survey area were estimated as 1.8 million red kangaroos and 3.0 million grey kangaroos, at overall densities of 2.8 and 4.7 km-2 respectively. Densities within the pastoral zone were not grossly in excess of those outside it, in contrast to the position in some of the other states. Extrapolation of mapped density isoclines suggests that these two species of kangaroos in Queensland as a whole number about 2.3 million red kangaroos and 5 million grey kangaroos. The legal Queensland kangaroo harvest in 1980 took about 10% of the total population of each species.