Bennett's tree-kangaroo (''Dendrolagus bennettianus'') is a large

tree-kangaroo Tree-kangaroos are marsupials of the genus ''Dendrolagus'', adapted for arboreal locomotion. They inhabit the tropical rainforests of New Guinea and far northeastern Queensland, along with some of the islands in the region. All tree-kangaroos ...

. Males can weigh from 11.5 kg up to almost 14 kg (25 to 31 lbs), while the females range between about 8 to 10.6 kg (17.6 to 23 lbs). They are very agile and are able to leap 9 metres (30 ft) down to another branch and have been known to drop as far as 18 metres (59 ft) to the ground without injury.

Description

Like other tree-kangaroos it has longer forelimbs and shorter hindlimbs than terrestrial kangaroos and a long bushy tail. It is mostly dark brown above and lighter fawn on chin, throat and lower abdomen. The forehead and muzzle are greyish. The feet and hands are black. The tail has a black patch at the base and a light patch on the upper part. The ears are short and rounded.

Habitat

This very elusive (or "cryptic") tree-kangaroo is found in both mountain and lowland tropical rain forests south of

Cooktown Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repairs ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

to just north of the

Daintree River The Daintree River is a river that rises in the Daintree Rainforest near Cape Tribulation in Far North Queensland, Australia. The river is located about northwest of Cairns in the UNESCO World Heritagelisted Wet Tropics of Queensland. The area ...

; an area of only about 70 km by 50 km (44 miles by 31 miles). It is also occasionally found in

sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaf, leaves, short Internode (botany), internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is paral ...

woodlands. It lives almost completely on the leaves of a wide range of rainforest trees, notably ''

Schefflera actinophylla ''Heptapleurum actinophyllum'' (formerly ''Schefflera actinophylla'') is a tree in the family Araliaceae. It is native to tropical rainforests and gallery forests in northern and north-eastern Queensland coasts and the Northern Territory of Austr ...

'' (the umbrella tree), vines, ferns and various wild fruits.Martin (2005).

Diet

The Bennett's tree-kangaroo is a

herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...

. It mostly eats leaves off 33 different plant species. Now that it is rarely hunted by

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

, its main predators are

python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (pro ...

s and the

dingo The dingo (''Canis familiaris'', ''Canis familiaris dingo'', ''Canis dingo'', or ''Canis lupus dingo'') is an ancient (Basal (phylogenetics), basal) lineage of dog found in Australia (continent), Australia. Its taxonomic classification is de ...

. It is thought to be the closest tree-kangaroo to the ancestral form.

Conservation status

Although the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

still rates the status of Bennett's tree-kangaroo as "near threatened", its numbers seem to be increasing and its range expanding. Sightings have become far more common in recent years. In 2006 a dead specimen was found along Amos Bay Road, just south of

. The increases in numbers and range are likely because most of its range is now protected under

World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

legislation, and it is no longer hunted by Indigenous Australians. Both Roger Martin and Lewis Roberts, two of the world's top experts on this species, agree that it should now be classified as "secure."

Footnotes

References

* Cronin, Leonard (2000). ''Australian Mammals: Key Guide (Revised Edition)''. Envirobooks. Annandale, Sydney, Australia. . * Martin, Roger, et al. (1996). ''Tree Kangaroos: A Curious Natural History''. Reed Books, Port Melbourne, Vic., Australia. . * Martin, Roger (2005). ''Tree-kangaroos of Australia and New Guinea''. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Vic., Australia. .

External links

Contains information and a photo of Bennett's tree-kangaroo
{{Taxonbar, from=Q209132 Bennett's tree-kangaroo Marsupials of Australia Endemic fauna of Australia Mammals of Queensland Near threatened animals Near threatened biota of Queensland Bennett's tree-kangaroo