Rufous hare-wallaby
Lagorchestes hirsutus Gould, 1844
The rufous hare-wallaby (Lagorchestes hirsutus) is a species in the family Macropodidae, order Diprotodontia. Recorded adults weigh 1.27 kg to 1.36 kg and live up to 13.2 years. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Near Threatened.
Quick facts about the rufous hare-wallaby
- Weight
- 1.27 kg – 1.36 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 13.2 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 13.2 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 11.6 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.89src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
Where does the rufous hare-wallaby live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The rufous hare-wallaby is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the rufous hare-wallaby?
The rufous hare-wallaby (Lagorchestes hirsutus), also known as the mala or wurrup, is a small macropod found in Australia. It was formerly widely distributed across the western half of the continent, but naturally occurring populations are now confined to Bernier Island and Dorre Island off Western Australia.
Although once widespread in the central and western deserts, predation by feral cats and foxes, and destructive wildfires, caused the last wild population on mainland Australia to go extinct in the early 1990s. Despite its extinction in the wild, the mainland subspecies persisted in captivity.
The species, which is currently classified as vulnerable, has rufous-grey fur and is the smallest hare-wallaby, weighing just 800-1,600 grams. It is a solitary nocturnal herbivore that feeds on herbs, leaves and seeds.
Mala prefer spinifex sandplain habitat; the animals build burrows under large spinifex hummocks. The burrows are tunnel-like structures with a spinifex roof. This provides a cool refuge during the heat of the day. In summer, they are likely to dig deeper burrows to withstand searing desert temperatures.
Captive stocks of the mainland subspecies are currently being reintroduced in the Tanami Desert in the Northern Territory. In July 2019, the first reintroductions into the Newhaven Sanctuary were conducted, with the release of 30 individuals into the 9,400 hectare, feral predator-free area.
Animals from both Bernier Island and Dorre Island have recently been translocated to Dirk Hartog Island following the complete removal of livestock and feral cats from the landscape.
From the Wikipedia article “Rufous hare-wallaby” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rufous_hare-wallaby&oldid=1380622874), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the rufous hare-wallaby endangered?
The rufous hare-wallaby is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Near Threatened species.
How is the rufous hare-wallaby classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderDiprotodontia
- familyMacropodidae
- genusLagorchestes
- SpeciesLagorchestes hirsutus Gould, 1844
Other names and names in other languages (26)
- MalaEnglish
- MalaEnglish
- OrmalaEnglish
- Rufous hare wallabyEnglish
- Rufous hare wallabyEnglish
- Rufous hare wallabyEnglish
- Western hare wallabyEnglish
- Western hare-wallabyEnglish
- WurrupEnglish
- WurrupEnglish
- ولب القواع الأصهبArabic
- ولب القواع الغربيArabic
- klokan kosmatýCzech
- Zottel-HasenkänguruGerman
- Canguro-liebre PeludoSpanish
- Wallaby-lièvre RouxFrench
- Lièvre-wallaby de l'ouestFrench
- Wallaby-lièvre De L'OuestFrench
- コシアカウサビワラビーJapanese
- コシアカウサギワラビーJapanese
- VestharekenguruNorwegian Bokmål
- VestharewallabyNorwegian Bokmål
- Westelijke BuidelhaasDutch
- filander kosmatyPolish
- Ualabi-Lebre-RuivoPortuguese
- Косматый кенгуруRussian
Relatives of the rufous hare-wallaby
Other species in the same genus Lagorchestes.
Eastern hare-wallaby
Lagorchestes leporides
Spectacled hare-wallaby
Lagorchestes conspicillatus
Lake Mackay hare-wallaby
Lagorchestes asomatus
CompareRufous hare-wallaby vs Eastern hare-wallabyRufous hare-wallaby vs Spectacled hare-wallabyRufous hare-wallaby vs Lake Mackay hare-wallabyRufous hare-wallaby vs Lagorchestes gymnotis
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the rufous hare-wallaby?
An adult rufous hare-wallaby weighs 1.27 kg – 1.36 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Where does the rufous hare-wallaby live?
Catalogue of Life checklists list the rufous hare-wallaby for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.
Is the rufous hare-wallaby endangered?
The rufous hare-wallaby is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is close to qualifying as threatened.
How long does the rufous hare-wallaby live?
The rufous hare-wallaby has a recorded lifespan of 13.2 years.
What kind of animal is the rufous hare-wallaby?
The rufous hare-wallaby (Lagorchestes hirsutus) belongs to the family Macropodidae in the order Diprotodontia.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Rufous hare-wallaby (Lagorchestes hirsutus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/rufous-hare-wallaby
“Rufous hare-wallaby (Lagorchestes hirsutus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/rufous-hare-wallaby.
@misc{rufous_hare_wallaby_2026,
title = {Rufous hare-wallaby (Lagorchestes hirsutus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/rufous-hare-wallaby},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}