Reference intervals for parameters of health of eastern grey kangaroos Macropus giganteus and management implications across their geographic range

Abstract

Reference intervals (RIs) describe baseline parameters of healthy animals, providing a powerful tool for wildlife managers to monitor health, identify disease and assess animal welfare. This paper reports haematological, glucose and serum protein RIs for one of Australia’s most iconic and managed mammals, the eastern grey kangaroo Macropus giganteus. Blood samples (n = 514) were collected from 11 populations of eastern grey kangaroos, across much of their geographic range. A species-level RI was initially established based on samples collected from four sites (n = 245) and was further partitioned based on significant differences associated with sexual maturity and season. Unique population m..