Recently, we’ve had four Eastern Grey Kangaroos grazing near the house – our usual female and her joey, a young male and a new female. All four have slightly differently coloured fur. The new female is especially pale. I haven’t seen another Eastern Grey this pale, so I thought it would be interesting to introduce her to you and show you all four kangaroos together. You can compare the various shades yourself!
Through observation, I think the fur of an individual kangaroo can be lighter or darker, according to the seasons, but there is quite a bit of difference within the species. Some kangaroos are dark grey, others light grey, some have a mix of grey and brown, while others can be quite a dark brown. Here is a photo of the four Eastern Grey’s together earlier in the week.
Our regular female and her joey have a fair bit of brown tones mixed with grey. It is also interesting to compare the colour of the adult male in this photograph with the dominant male in the group of five kangaroos which had previously visited. He was almost a chocolate brown.
That’s certainly a wide colour range and all within a small community. Very interesting.
Yes, I thought so too. The pale female is so beautifully fine-boned as well. The others all seem to have bigger frames. I can’t help but wonder where she came from. I haven’t seen any that colour before. BTW – I ahven’t got to your blog yet. I am preparing for an art show – so have been looking through so many photos! 🙂
We were in Tassie back in November and came across and almost white Pademelon near Cradle Mountain, it wasn’t an albino. Apparently there are a few about but the normal colour is grey/brown with cream on the belly.
Yes, I think it is interesting to look at variations within species of all kinds, including plants. I often find myself puzzling over whether I have something new for the species list or a variant on something I’ve already listed! 🙂