Viatouch Teacher Articles
Science

Kangaroo Up a Tree
by Margaret Etherton

A huge, hairy kangaroo lives in a tree. It has long curved claws that scratch and whiskers that quiver. It has a thick tail and strong back legs. On a dark, shadowy night in the thickest rainforest, this unique kangaroo can lose its grip, crash down, and land on the ground. This is a tree kangaroo—the only kangaroo in the world that lives in a tree. Its scientific name is Dendrolagus which means "tree hare". Does this sound like a rabbit?

Tree kangaroos are similar to ordinary Australian kangaroos, but they have developed claws in order to climb trees. All kangaroos evolved from possums. At some stage, the ancestors of tree kangaroos returned to the trees to live. Tree kangaroos clamber to the roof of the rainforest, called the canopy, to escape from danger and to hunt for food. The rainforest is a wet, slippery place to live. Tree kangaroos can lose their grip and come crashing down. If you just happen to be standing underneath, you could suddenly find a tree kangaroo at your feet!

Tree kangaroos are roughly the size of a large dog. They are coloured buff on their belly, grey on their backs, and black on their snouts, toes and the tip of their tails. Weighing between 18 and 30 pounds, they are two feet tall. They have a tail three feet long! Tree kangaroos differ from ground kangaroos in that their front legs and back legs are almost the same length. They are the only kangaroos that can take one step at a time with their back feet—half way between a run and a hop.

Tree kangaroos jump as far as thirty feet from one tree branch to another. On the bottom of their feet are cushion-like pads of rough skin that help them hold on. Using their fat tail to keep balance, they cling to the branches with their sharp claws. To shimmy down a smooth-barked tree, they slide tail first. If they are startled or if they slip, they plummet to the ground sometimes as far as 65 feet, landing like a cat on all four paws! After such a dramatic dive, they run-hop away into the forest at top speed.

Because tree kangaroos are nocturnal, they browse for food at night up in the rainforest canopy. They like to eat native fruit, leaves, ferns, and creepers. In the day they curl up on a branch and sleep. It doesn't matter if it is raining; the water slides right off their fur.

There are about ten species of tree kangaroos in New Guinea. Australia has two main species of tree kangaroos—Lumholtz's and Bennett's. Bennett's kangaroos are all found inside the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area in Queensland, where they are relatively safe from extinction. But Lumholtz's Tree Kangaroo has problems because they live in forests on privately owned land, which farmers want to clear. Once the trees are chopped down, the habitat of the Lumholtz's Tree Kangaroo will vanish. Other species of tree kangaroos are in danger, too. The native peoples of New Guinea hunt tree kangaroos for food.

The tree kangaroo is an amazing animal if you are lucky to see one. If you have the chance to go exploring in a rainforest in Australasia one night, don't forget to look up at the trees. Perhaps you will spy a tree kangaroo above in the vines. But beware. They might slip, crash down, and land at your feet!

References:

MacDonald, David, ed. The New Encyclopedia of Mammals. London: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Myers, Philip. Mammals, An Explore Your World Handbook. NY: Discovery Books, 2000.

Internet:

http://www.rainforest-australia.com/lumholtz_tree_kangaroo.htm
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Macropodidae.html