Of the 73 species of Kangaroos in the world 48 can be found in Australia. And of the 48 only four can be harvested commercially, (nice way of saying meat wrapped in cellophane at the local market so you can throw a Roo Burger next to the shrimp on the barby; yum!). The four edible species that have a total population in excess of 50 million are>
- Eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus)
- Western grey kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus)
- Red kangaroo (Osphranter rufus)
- Common wallaroo (Osphranter robustus ssp.) whose coat color varies from shades of brown to a very dark, almost black, shade of blue.
Scientists believe that when the other species heard about the harvesting legislation they began dying their coats bright red so that hunters can easily and quickly identify them as inedible and refrain from blowing their heads off for commercial use. A definite Win-Win!