Rufous hare-wallaby: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the rufous hare-wallaby lives – recorded in 1 country, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Lagorchestes hirsutus
Group	Marsupials
Status	Near threatened (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	1 country
Continents	Oceania
Class	Mammal
Order	Diprotodontia
Family	Macropodidae

Where does the rufous hare-wallaby live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the rufous hare-wallaby in 1 country or territory across Oceania. Wikidata lists it as endemic to Australia.

Australia

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the rufous hare-wallaby endangered?

The rufous hare-wallaby’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Near threatened” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the rufous hare-wallaby?

The rufous hare-wallaby (Lagorchestes hirsutus) is a mammal in the order Diprotodontia and the family Macropodidae, genus Lagorchestes. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the rufous hare-wallaby

The rufous hare-wallaby (Lagorchestes hirsutus), also known as the mala or wurrup, is a small macropod found in Australia. It was formerly widely distributed across the western half of the continent, but naturally occurring populations are now confined to Bernier Island and Dorre Island off Western Australia.

Although once widespread in the central and western deserts, predation by feral cats and foxes, and destructive wildfires, caused the last wild population on mainland Australia to go extinct in the early 1990s. Despite its extinction in the wild, the mainland subspecies persisted in captivity.

The species, which is currently classified as vulnerable, has rufous-grey fur and is the smallest hare-wallaby, weighing just 800-1,600 grams. It is a solitary nocturnal herbivore that feeds on herbs, leaves and seeds.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Rufous hare-wallaby (revision 1380622874), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q226933 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).