Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby (Petrogale xanthopus) lives in rocky outcrops across South Australia. It feeds on grasses and leaves. Its conservation status is Near Threatened.
Fascinating facts about the Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby
- A yellow-footed rock-wallaby can stretch its body from 480 mm up to 650 mm, usually around 600 mm, while its tail adds another 570-700 mm (often 690 mm) and its weight sits between 6 kg and 11 kg. Those dimensions make it a medium-sized macropod, large enough to leap four metres between rocks yet compact enough to squeeze into narrow crevices.
- In South Australia, the estimated yellow-footed rock-wallaby population swings wildly between 2,000 and 6,500 individuals, reflecting high uncertainty and likely large fluctuations. Meanwhile, New South Wales hosts just 170-215 wallabies across ten known sites. These stark contrasts show how isolated pockets can hold only a few hundred animals, making each sub-population vulnerable to local threats like foxes, goats, and habitat loss.
- A yellow-footed rock-wallaby can gulp more than ten percent of its body weight in water in just seven minutes, letting it exploit brief summer rainstorms instead of relying on salty creek runoff. For a 9 kg individual, that means drinking roughly 0.9 kg (about a litre) of fresh water in under ten minutes, a lifesaver in the semi-arid cliffs where it lives.
- Females can become pregnant within a day of giving birth, keeping a constant state of gestation that lasts 30-32 days and an estrus cycle of the same length. After birth, the joey spends 189-227 days in the pouch before emerging, while males reach sexual maturity at about 590 days and females at 540 days. This rapid, year-round breeding cycle.
- The subspecies P. x. celeris once numbered 5,000-10,000 in 1993, but today its size is unknown.
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.
At a glance
RangeSouth Australia
HabitatRocky outcrops
DietGrasses and leaves
About the Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby
In the rugged outcrops of Australia's sun-baked landscape, the Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby navigates its domain with an effortless blend of stealth and agility, its tawny coat glistening like polished stone as it bounds across the rocky terrain with a soft thud of padded feet. With eyes alert and watchful, this diminutive marsupial surveys its surroundings, ever-vigilant for the predators that stalk its arid realm, its very existence a testament to the ingenuity and resilience that has allowed it to thrive in this harsh yet beautiful world. As it moves, the wallaby's yellow feet flash like tiny beacons, a fleeting glimpse of a life lived on the edge of survival.
Hear the Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby, and 4,400+ more
Real recorded sounds, 11 nature games and a free Daily 5, 1v1 quiz duels, conservation wins and a safe Kids mode. Free on Feravox.
