Hobbies And Interests
Habitat
Eastern Grays are also known as "foresters" for their habit of spending most of their time in the forests of Eastern Australia and Tasmania. When it is time for the mobs to graze, they will move to the open grasslands where it's more abundant and easier to reach food resources. Western Grays spend most of their days sleeping amidst the trees and shrubs of Western Australia and move out to forage at night.
Feeding Habits
Gray kangaroos feed exclusively on grasses, shrubs, leaves and bark. They have a chamber stomach like a cow, capable of breaking down the cellulose in the tough native grasses for digestion. Kangaroo populations have increased since the coming of European settlers to Australia unlike most other species. European settlers killed off most of the kangaroos' natural predators and opened up previously forested or brush land for pasture land, thereby unintentionally providing easier access to food for kangaroos. Today they are seen as pests in some areas of Australia; farmers claiming the kangaroos feed on their cash crops and boggart water supplies intended for cattle and other livestock.
Population Size
Today the kangaroos' numbers are in the millions since human intervention has removed natural checks on their growth. It is permissible to hunt kangaroos in certain areas for their skin and meat. This is an attempt by humans to keep their numbers in control much like the white-tailed deer populations in America. These large numbers also present a threat to motorists as they spread into more urban areas. There is no substantial evidence that these large numbers of kangaroos are threatening the native plants in the area, although some Australians have considered that it might become an issue if the population is left unchecked.
Predators
Land development is not the sole reason for the kangaroos' population growth in Australia. There were once a number of natural predators who kept the number of kangaroos down. These included the thylacine and marsupial lion, both of which are now extinct. The only remaining natural predator are carnivorous reptiles like the goanna which will only eat small kangaroos in times of famine. Humans have introduced a number of new predators to the kangaroo habitat, such as dingos, wild dogs, feral cats and foxes. Given that these are not natural kangaroo hunters and are usually smaller than the thylacines and marsupial lions, they are rarely as efficient at bringing down a large kangaroo or fighting off a mob.