The study, conducted by the Department of Territory and Municipal Services, has tracked 24 eastern grey kangaroos fitted with GPS tracking collars since early 2010.

Don Fletcher, a senior ecologist with the Department of Territory and Municipal Services, said that by understanding the movement patterns of kangaroo mobs, ecologists could better target kangaroo culls.

''What's the best strategic scale on which to deploy kangaroo control to get effective results?'' Dr Fletcher asked. ''The first step is simply, well what's the home range of the kangaroo? This contributes to that more effective and strategic management of kangaroo populations.''

The study also shows that kangaroos may have more road sense than they are generally given credit for. Dr Fletcher said the findings may help to prevent the 1000 kangaroo-related crashes that occur in the ACT every year.

''The most interesting part is roos have road sense, nobody believes me,'' he said.

Dr Fletcher said initial findings showed that kangaroos purposefully avoided high-speed roads.

Ecologists have even been tracking one set of kangaroos which appears to be using an underpass to cross State Circle near Parliament House.

Canberra has a high density of kangaroos, with around 300 kangaroos per square kilometre.

Rangers attend about 1000 kangaroo-related accidents every year and suspect that about 1000 accidents occur without their knowledge.

Using the GPS collars with Google Earth, the Department of Territory and Municipal Services has also created an interactive map, allowing the public to track kangaroo movements from their own home.

The collars have been recording the location of the kangaroos every hour since January 2010.

The study will continue until January next year, at which point the collars will automatically detach themselves.