Abstract
Between 1980-1982 much of Australia was surveyed from the air to estimate density and distribution of kangaroos. Numbers were estimated as 8.3 million red kangaroos Macropus rufus, 1.8 million 'western' grey kangaroos M. fuliginosus and 5.0 million eastern grey kangaroos M. giganteus. The unsurveyed eastern highlands probably hold a further 4 million eastern greys, allowing a tentative overall estimate for 1981 of 19 million kangaroos in mainland Australia.