A kangaroo of eastern Australian woodland and grassland that moves by hopping on its hind legs.
The tail has a dark tip, and males grow larger than females.
A young eastern grey kangaroo inside a female’s pouch is not always her biological offspring. In the wild, females have accepted another female’s young into the pouch and continued nursing it. In two pairs of mothers, the young were exchanged, with each female raising the other’s offspring.
A study published in 2015 reported that 11 of 326 juveniles studied in Wilsons Promontory National Park, Australia, during 2008–2013 were adopted. Researchers identified mothers and young using ear tags, observed pouch occupancy and nursing, and checked DNA relationships. Adoption occurred at 7–11 months of age. The two reciprocal exchanges involved four females, each of which nursed her adopted young exclusively for at least six months. Bonds persisted even when the biological and nursing mothers differed. In six pairs studied intensively, adopted young and their mothers were found in the same groups about as closely as biological mother–young pairs.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
New South Wales monitors wild kangaroo numbers and adjusts commercial harvest limits in response. In its explanation updated in May 2025, the state government reported that the 2023 survey placed eastern grey kangaroos in the Narrabri zone below a management threshold. It reduced the harvest quota from 15% to 10% of the estimated population. Following higher numbers in the 2024 survey, the quota returned to 15% for 2025. This regional management responds to population changes by limiting harvesting when numbers fall.