The smallest macropod is the musky rat-kangaroo, which grows to about the size of a rat. The musky rat-kangaroo lives in rain forests of northeastern Australia. Other rat-kangaroos are found in deserts and grasslands. Hare-wallabies and potoroos inhabit grasslands, bettongs live in dry woodlands, and tree kangaroos are found in rain forests. Kangaroos and people.
Kangaroos have few enemies besides human beings and wild dogs called dingoes.
Kangaroos are protected throughout Australia by laws that prohibit killing them. In some areas, however, hunters are licensed to kill large kangaroos to protect crops or to provide meat, fur, and leather when the kangaroos are abundant. Some small macropods, including certain rat-kangaroos and wallabies, are in danger of extinction because farmers and ranchers have destroyed much of their habitat. Kangaroos and their relatives belong to the family Macropodidae. The scientific name for the red kangaroo is Macropus rufus.