Foraging behaviour in tammar (Macropus eugenii) and parma (Macropus parma) wallabies

Abstract

Captive parma and tammar wallabies, when offered ryegrass sward in plots, visited ungrazed plots more frequently and spent longer grazing on them than on plots that were previously grazed but not visibly depleted. There was no significant difference between the two species with respect to the pattern of time spent grazing between plots, but parma wallabies tended to visit ungrazed plots more frequently than tammar wallabies. When offered carrot pieces of different dimensions both species preferred carrot pieces of greater mass, regardless of shape. Both species favoured eating in the upright (bipedal) position despite the fact that the use of this position prolonged search time between bites. Although the two species are able to forage optimally when grazing, the greater efficiency of the bipedal posture in predator avoidance may result in the selection of larger food items whenever possible.