How big are kangaroos?

How big are kangaroos? Well, depending on species, kangaroos can stand up to two metres tall. Red kangaroos are considerably taller than grey kangaroos.

If you’ve never encountered a kangaroo before, you might be in for a surprise. They are not small, dainty things, and some of the really big ones can border on terrifying.

Red kangaroo at Alice Springs Koala Sanctuary — A red kangaroo at Alice Springs Kangaroo Sanctuary, stretching to full two metre height. Why, yes, he is muscular… Photo by David Whitley/ Australia Travel Questions

The first thing to bear in mind when asking: “How big are kangaroos?” is that there are four separate species of kangaroo, with around 50 million kangaroos in Australia in total.

How big are kangaroos? Size of western and eastern greys

The western grey kangaroo lives across the southern half of Australia, but not on the eastern side of the great dividing range. An adult will generally weigh between 28kg and 54kg, standing around 1.3m tall. There are thought to be around 2.3 million of them living in the wild.

The far more numerous eastern grey kangaroo has lighter fur than the western grey. It is the species visitors to Australia are most likely to see, partly because there are 16 million of them, and partly because they live in the East Coast areas that tourists like to visit. These include Anglesea on the Great Ocean Road and the Euroka Campground in the Blue Mountains.

There are areas – such as the Grampians in Victoria – where eastern grey and western grey kangaroos can be seen in close proximity. To tell them apart, aside from the fur, look at the size. Eastern grey kangaroos are usually bigger, with adult males weighing between 50kg and 66kg.

They’re taller, too, getting to around 1.5m in height. Some big males can approach the two metre mark, though, while females are around half the size. The Kangaroo Island kangaroo is a smaller sub-species of the western grey.

How big are kangaroos? Size of Antilopine and red kangaroos

Much rarer is the antilopine kangaroo, which is only found in the far northern, tropical parts of Australia. You might spot one in the Kimberley, Western Australia, the Northern Territory’s Top End or Cape York in Queensland. The antilopine kangaroos are often confused with wallabies, and are the smallest kangaroo species. Adult males are generally around 1.1m tall, weighing under 50kg.

The real big boys, however, are the red kangaroos. These lads, you do not want to pick a fight with, although the Alice Springs Kangaroo Sanctuary is a good place to see them from a safe distance.

Where do red kangaroos live?

Red kangaroos are generally found in outback areas, away from the fertile coasts.

Adult male red kangaroos weigh between 55kg and 90kg, standing around 1.5 metres tall. The really big ones can reach two metres, though. Again, the females are considerably smaller – just over half the size of the males. Red kangaroos can travel at speeds of up to 55km/h.

There are a few areas, such as the Murray River National Park in Victoria, where grey and red kangaroos can be seen together.