Eastern hare-wallaby

Eastern hare kangaroo ( Lagorchestes leporides ) Drawing by John Gould

The Eastern Hare kangaroo ( Lagorchestes leporides ) is an extinct species bag from the family of kangaroos ( Macropodidae ).

Like all rabbits kangaroos it was a very small member of the kangaroo, reaching the size of a rabbit. His fur was dyed gray-brown at the top, the sides were reddish and the underside white. As with most kangaroos, the hind legs were much longer and stronger than the front legs and the tail is long and muscular.

The Eastern hare kangaroos lived in southeastern Australia, their range included the eastern South Australia, western New South Wales and north-western Victoria. Their habitat were open grasslands.

Until the mid-19th century, the animals were relatively common, then began the decline in populations. Main reasons for this was the conversion of their habitat to pasture for sheep and cattle, and the abolition of the traditional slash and burn of the Aborigines, who had a small two-dimensional pattern of old and green vegetation in place and sufficiently catered for food and cover for animals. The last specimen was sighted in 1890.