Many species of tree kangaroos are spotted in the rain forests, mountainous area and even in the lowlands. They are spread over Indonesia, Australia and Papua New Guinea. Tree kangaroos belong to Macropodidae family, that spend their life on trees. These animals are marsupials, who give birth to undeveloped young ones. There are around 12 subspecies of tree kangaroos and each one varies in color, pelage (fur) and size. Of these Grizzled Tree-kangaroo, Ursine Tree-kangaroo, Matschie's Tree-kangaroo, Doria's Tree-kangaroo, Seri's Tree-kangaroo, Goodfellow's Tree-kangaroo, Golden-mantled Tree-kangaroo, Lowlands Tree-kangaroo, Dingiso, Tenkile are from New Guinea and Lumholtz's Tree-kangaroo and Bennett's Tree-kangaroo are from Australia. It is believed that the tree kangaroos descend from animals that were similar to kangaroos, wallabies and pademelons. Among the many species of Macropodidae family, some adapted themselves to live on the ground, while some went back to live in the trees.Tree Kangaroos are typically built for living on trees. These macropods have shorter and wider feet, with longer claws. This allows them to move faster on trees. Tree kangaroos are slow and clumsy and tend to walk awkwardly on ground. Their long tail is heavy and makes balancing difficult, when they come on ground. However, they are agile and fast on trees. They have big hind legs and small forelimbs, which makes climbing easy for them. They also have the ability to jump from one tree to another and their long tail provides a great support while moving around on trees. It is very interesting to learn and understand the amazing adaptations of a Tree Kangaroo. Given below are a few facts of this agile arboreal animal.
Facts about Tree Kangaroo
- Tree Kangaroos are excellent leapers and can jump up to 9m from one tree to another. They can even jump from 18m of height in order to land on the ground.
- It is 4 feet tall and weighs up to 30 pounds.
- Tree Kangaroos have a reddish brown pelage, which has a dark stripe that runs down its back. The ears, stomach and feet are red while the face is pale in appearance.
- The length of the tail is equal to the length of the body. The tail helps to maintain balance while climbing and moving from one tree to other.
- These Kangaroo has a rubbery sole that helps them climb the trees swiftly.
- As this kangaroo specie is even found in lowlands, they are named as lowland tree kangaroos.
- Tree kangaroos are frugivores and herbivores.
- Sap, eggs, grains, flowers, barks are the other favorite food items of Tree Kangaroo.
- Tree kangaroos prefer living alone. They only come together for the purpose of mating.
- The gestation period lasts for 32 days after which the female gives live birth to one joey, which stays in the pouch till it completely develops to be able to survive in the wild.
- The young one takes up to 10-12 months to develop. After it has grown well, it remains close to its mother until it becomes independent.
- Males go on to bond with other females, who are quiet independent themselves. However, females only share a strong bond with their young ones.
- An adult male and female weighs around 15-30 pounds. They live up to 20 years.
- The young ones of the Kangaroo are very playful and stay in the vicinity of their mother.
- The Tree Kangaroos are Australia's largest arboreal animals.
- This specie of macropods, lick themselves to keep themselves cool during the hot whether.
- Among the many Tree Kangaroo species, the Wondiwoi tree kangaroo are threatened while the Dingisco specie has suffered a major decline in their population.
