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Australian Mammalogy Australian Mammalogy Society
Journal of the Australian Mammal Society
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Combat leads to intraspecific killing in eastern grey kangaroos

Pauline Toni
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

Université de Sherbrooke, Département de biologie, 2500 Boulevard de l’Université, Sherbrooke, Quebec, QC J1K 2R1, Canada. Email: pauline.toni@usherbrooke.ca

Australian Mammalogy 40(1) 109-111 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM16057
Submitted: 28 November 2016  Accepted: 1 February 2017   Published: 24 February 2017

Abstract

Males engaging in same-sex competition can assess the strength of an opponent by means of behavioural display in order to avoid escalated interactions. There is no published record of male–male fighting with lethal consequences in eastern grey kangaroos, Macropus giganteus. The combat between two males reported here had a fatal outcome.

Additional keywords: behaviour, competition, Macropodidae, marsupial.


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