Happy belated #WorldTreeKangarooDay! Tree-kangaroos are aboreal Australasian macropod marsupials, genus Dendrolagus with 14 species - all listed on the IUCN Red List.
Top: Plates 26 + 27 in John Gould's A Monograph of the Macropodidae, or Family of Kangaroos (1841-2)
Bottom: Plates 49 + 50 in Gould's The Mammals of Australia (1863)
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
Quick Facts
The Curtain Fig Tree is a species of Stranger Fig.
Curtain Fig Tree National Park protects a small area of an endangered type of forest, called the Mabi forest.
Mabi is the local Aboriginal (Ngadjon) word for the Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo.
Over 130 species of birds call this forest their home.
Part of our trip across the tablelands involved…
Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus goodfellowi)
(Photo from World Association of Zoos and Aquariums)
Conservation Status- Endangered
Habitat- Indonesia; Papua New Guinea
Size (Weight/Length)- 6 kg; 80 cm
Diet- Fruits; Leaves; Flowers; Insects
Cool Facts- Looking like a mix between a red panda and a red kangaroo, the Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo is an example of evolution at its finest. Lacking many of the adaptations of tree climbing mammals such as a prehensile tail and reversible ankles, these tree kangaroos are distant relatives of red kangaroos on mainland Australia. However, their extremely strong forelimbs and hooked claws allow them to travel in the trees like a squirrel. The Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo lives almost completely in the trees and can jump directly to the ground from over nine meters up in a tree. The main threat towards Goodfellow’s tree kangaroos is illegal poaching and habitat loss. Unfortunately, tree kangaroos have recently been taken into the illegal pet trade with people looking for adorable exotic animals to call their own despite the consequences these practices have on wild Goodfellow's tree kangaroos.
Rating- 13/10 (One of the cutest faces in the animal kingdom.)