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Proposed new Lead Section
editThe whiptail wallaby (Macropus parryl) also known as a pretty face wallaby is a wallaby only found in Australia on the eastern coast of Queensland and northern New South Wales. Whiptail wallaby's prefer to live on slopes at higher altitudes under the cover of canopies and they feed on grasses, ferns, and herbal plants. They are distinguished physically from other wallabies by their white cheeks and long thin tail with a dark tip. They have an average lifespan of 10 years in the wild. Females give birth to a single joey, which is nursed in her pouch for roughly 37 weeks, or until the joey is ready to leave. The first whiptail wallaby to be identified was found by Sir Edward Parry in 1834 and then was kept as his house pet.[1] The whiptail wallaby is the most social marsupial[2] and can live in groups (known as mobs) of 50 to 80 wallabies, which separate into subgroups of roughly ten individuals.[1] Previously whiptail wallabies were commercially harvested for their skins,[3] but they have been removed from Australia's commercial harvesting list due to a decline in their population[4] and after a campaign led by Wildlife Queensland[5]. They are still currently classified as Least Concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's 'List of Threatened Species' due to a number of factors including a lack of major threats, wide distribution, and relatively stable population.[6]
I plan to add a lot of information to this article and tidy up a lot of previously added information. A better physical description with pictures I think is needed, along with more in depth talk about their social behaviors, mating behaviors and the effects of being commercially hunted had on their population. Hunting these wallabies was outlawed in 2008, so I'd like to find any new information on their population size since that change occurred.
Sources:
1."Macropus parryi (whiptail wallaby)". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
2. Kaufmann, John H. (1974-05-01). "Social ethology of the whiptail wallaby, Macropus parryi, in northeastern New South Wales". Animal Behaviour 22 (2): 281–369. doi:10.1016/S0003-3472(74)80032-1.
3. Southwell, Colin; Fletcher, Mark; McRae, Peter; Porter, Brett; Broers, Richard (1995-01-01). "Abundance and Harvest Rate of the Whiptail Wallaby in Southeastern Queensland, Australia". Wildlife Society Bulletin (1973-2006) 23 (4): 726–732.
4. Pople, Tony; Grigg, Gordon (August 1999). "Commercial harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia". Environment Australia. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
5. "Wildlife Queensland - Whiptail Wallaby". www.wildlife.org.au. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
6. "Macropus parryi (Whiptail Wallaby)". www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
Peer Edit
editAlli, You have a great balance of topics and subheadings within your article. I was very impressed with your inclusion of many topics and discussion on both males and females. I think that the ‘Conservation Status’ section could use some more explanation regarding why was the whip-tail's population being affected, and what did this have to do with the harvest list? Also, what does being listed as ‘least concern’ for conservation from the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources mean? Finally, you could include more on why they can’t be hunted anymore. I think these would be good improvements because they will bring clarity to the ‘Conservation Status’ section. There are also very minor grammar improvements to touch up on. The couple that I noticed were “…lifespan of 10 years” and “Males generally occupy a large area…” After reading your article I learned that I could use more subsections for my own article. Great work!