Matschie's Tree-kangaroo
Encyclopedia
Matschie's Tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus matschiei), also known as the Huon Tree-kangaroo is a tree-kangaroo
native to the Huon Peninsula
of North Eastern New Guinea
. Under the IUCN classification, Matschie's Tree-kangaroo is Endangered.
The scientific name honours German biologist Paul Matschie
.
With a body and head length of 20 to 32 inches (812.8 mm), Matschie's Tree-kangaroo are much smaller than Australia's well-known red kangaroo. An adult
male weighs between 20 and 25 lb (9–11 kg). An adult female weighs between 15 and 20 lb (7–9 kg)
There is no particular season in which they breed. Gestation
lasts 32 days and joeys of captive bred individuals leave the pouch after 13 ½ months. The average life span of the Matschie's Tree-kangaroo in the wild is unknown, but is at least 14 years. The life span of the kangaroo in a zoo is about 20 years.
The most distinctive trait of all tree kangaroos is the hair whorl they possess. It is a patch of hair that goes out in many directions and its location ranges from up near the shoulders all the way down to the tail. The Matschie’s tree kangaroo is golden on its ventral side, lower parts of its limbs, ear edges, belly, and tail, and the rest of its body is a chestnut brown color, except for usually having a dark stripe down its back. Their faces are typically an array of yellow and white colors. The Matschies’ are similar in color and size to Dendrolagus dorianus, the Doria’s tree kangaroo. Matschies’ ears are small and bear-like looking and they do not have a good sense of hearing because of it. They have curved claws on their forelimbs and soft pads on their hind limbs that aid in their climbing ability, and they have some independent movement of their digits as well as good dexterity due to their forelimbs being able to bend a great deal. The 4th and 5th digit of their feet are enlarged, the 1st digit is absent, and the 2nd and 3rd digits are syndactylous (two digits that look like one fused together).
Scientists have discovered that the Matschie’s are able to walk bipedally and there’s a lot of rotation in their limbs for climbing. Out of all of the Dendrolagus species, the Matschie’s tree kangaroo is the best vertical climber and has more strength in its muscles than any others. Their tails help to offset their balance while moving swiftly through the trees since their tails are about the same length as their head and body size. Sexual dimorphism is very low, with males and females being of about equal sizes. The upper and lower jaws of the Matschie’s tree kangaroos are different too in addition to them being different in body size. The upper jaw has three incisors, one canine, one premolar, and four molars, while the lower jaw has one very sharp incisor, no canines and low crowned molars.
Instead of sweating, Matschie's Tree-kangaroo licks its forearms and allows the evaporation to help cool its body.
In the wild, it will usually feed on leaves, fruits and mosses. When kept in zoos, it feeds on apples, carrots, yams, corn on the cob, celery, kale/romaine, high fiber monkey biscuits, tofu, hard boiled eggs, and various types of tree boughs (elm, willow, etc.)
In the wild, researchers have found most Matschies’ live alone or in small assemblies, containing maybe a mother and her offspring and one male. Most of the time, the groups have a sex ratio of 1:1. The Matschie’s tree kangaroos are very closely related to Dendrolagus goodfellowi, the Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo, which was once believed to be a subspecies of the Matschie’s tree kangaroos. Matschies’ appear to be scared of humans because they scramble around when humans are nearby and they are very difficult to find in the forests. They spend about 14 to 15 hours of their days sleeping and resting. The Matschie’s tree kangaroos are known for defending their home territory and marking their boundaries.
When the temperature of the environment drastically changes at different times of the year, they are able to maintain a moderate body temperature because of their metabolic rate. Matschies’ have been found to be very susceptible to mycobacterial infections; however, the infections do not seem to be contagious because some individuals that are around infected kangaroos do not appear to get the infection. It seems to be from an avium complex related to tuberculosis, but scientists are still unsure of how exactly it spreads.
, which is just off the coast of Papua New Guinea. However, most scientists believe the tree kangaroos were introduced onto this island and were not originally found there. The Matschies’ prefer to live in deciduous forests and tropical rainforests because they remain in trees for most of their days. They mainly live in the northeast interior of New Guinea and their home range sizes consists of about 25 hectares of the area.
documents the mating techniques of the Matschies’ in his text Mammals of New Guinea by stating mating occurs when a female advances on a male while on the ground; they touch each other’s noses and click their tongues. Usually the female is aggressive and hits the male but permits him to climb on her within ten minutes, and copulation can last up to sixty minutes afterwards. The gestation period lasts approximately 44.2 days, which is known to be the longest for any of the marsupials. The Matschie’s tree kangaroos have no embryonic diapauses or delayed implantations and are able to get pregnant as soon as the joey leaves the pouch. The joey usually peeks out of the pouch around 22 weeks, will feed on its own about 27.5 weeks, will leave the pouch around 28 weeks, and permanently leave for good around 41 weeks. These tree kangaroos have been found to reach fourteen years in age. In captivity, the tree kangaroos can get pregnant at any time of the year and are known to breed well. The female oestrus cycle is between 54.2 and 56.8 days and is able to produce young between the ages of 2 and 2.5 years of age.
Conservation International
, an organization that supports the preservation of biodiversity of the Earth, participates in the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program. The Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program is a program that originated from Papua New Guinea and is now based at the Woodland Park Zoo
in Seattle, WA. It is designed to study and conserve the various tree kangaroo species. The program also encourages local villages in Papua New Guinea to help with conservation, enhances the local schools and teachers as well as advancing the medical care for the people, and recognizing particular habitats needed for the tree kangaroos to flourish. The Woodland Park Zoo is very keen on helping the Matschie’s population grow and develop, and they have also seen that mothers develop their young better if they are removed from the males after mating. A Species Survival Plan has been developed by zoos around the world to help conserve the Matschie’s tree kangaroos and stop the destruction of their natural habitat as well as keep healthy populations growing in the zoos. By keeping them in zoos, researchers hope to build up the populations of the Matschie’s. They are strongly committed to building up the population because Matschies’ are the most widely exhibited species in zoos around the world. Scientists are still trying to learn more about Matschie’s tree kangaroos and are conducting studies to watch and help the populations in the wild.
In 2009 the YUS Conservation Area
has been established to protect the habitat of Matschies’ in the northern part of the Huon Peninsula
. YUS streches over 760km² and includes three rivers: Yopno, Uruwa and Som, after which it was named.
Tree-kangaroo
Tree-kangaroos are macropods adapted for life in trees. They are found in the rainforests of New Guinea, far northeastern Queensland, and nearby islands. Although most are found in mountainous areas, several species also occur in lowlands, such as the aptly named Lowlands Tree-kangaroo...
native to the Huon Peninsula
Huon Peninsula
Huon Peninsula is a large rugged peninsula on the island of New Guinea in Morobe Province, eastern Papua New Guinea. It is named after French explorer Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec who discovered it along with his personal assistant and porter, Henry Ole. The peninsula is dominated by the steep...
of North Eastern New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. Under the IUCN classification, Matschie's Tree-kangaroo is Endangered.
The scientific name honours German biologist Paul Matschie
Paul Matschie
Paul Matschie was a German zoologist. He worked at the Zoological Museum in Berlin....
.
Physical description
Adult
An adult is a human being or living organism that is of relatively mature age, typically associated with sexual maturity and the attainment of reproductive age....
male weighs between 20 and 25 lb (9–11 kg). An adult female weighs between 15 and 20 lb (7–9 kg)
There is no particular season in which they breed. Gestation
Gestation
Gestation is the carrying of an embryo or fetus inside a female viviparous animal. Mammals during pregnancy can have one or more gestations at the same time ....
lasts 32 days and joeys of captive bred individuals leave the pouch after 13 ½ months. The average life span of the Matschie's Tree-kangaroo in the wild is unknown, but is at least 14 years. The life span of the kangaroo in a zoo is about 20 years.
The most distinctive trait of all tree kangaroos is the hair whorl they possess. It is a patch of hair that goes out in many directions and its location ranges from up near the shoulders all the way down to the tail. The Matschie’s tree kangaroo is golden on its ventral side, lower parts of its limbs, ear edges, belly, and tail, and the rest of its body is a chestnut brown color, except for usually having a dark stripe down its back. Their faces are typically an array of yellow and white colors. The Matschies’ are similar in color and size to Dendrolagus dorianus, the Doria’s tree kangaroo. Matschies’ ears are small and bear-like looking and they do not have a good sense of hearing because of it. They have curved claws on their forelimbs and soft pads on their hind limbs that aid in their climbing ability, and they have some independent movement of their digits as well as good dexterity due to their forelimbs being able to bend a great deal. The 4th and 5th digit of their feet are enlarged, the 1st digit is absent, and the 2nd and 3rd digits are syndactylous (two digits that look like one fused together).
Scientists have discovered that the Matschie’s are able to walk bipedally and there’s a lot of rotation in their limbs for climbing. Out of all of the Dendrolagus species, the Matschie’s tree kangaroo is the best vertical climber and has more strength in its muscles than any others. Their tails help to offset their balance while moving swiftly through the trees since their tails are about the same length as their head and body size. Sexual dimorphism is very low, with males and females being of about equal sizes. The upper and lower jaws of the Matschie’s tree kangaroos are different too in addition to them being different in body size. The upper jaw has three incisors, one canine, one premolar, and four molars, while the lower jaw has one very sharp incisor, no canines and low crowned molars.
Ecology and behavior
Matschie's Tree-kangaroo lives in the mountainous rainforests at elevations of between 1000 and 3300 m. The kangaroo tends to live either alone or with very small groups, usually composed of just a mother, a joey, and a male. They spend most of their time in the trees and come down occasionally to feed. They are very adept at hopping and can leap up to 30 feet (9 m).Instead of sweating, Matschie's Tree-kangaroo licks its forearms and allows the evaporation to help cool its body.
In the wild, it will usually feed on leaves, fruits and mosses. When kept in zoos, it feeds on apples, carrots, yams, corn on the cob, celery, kale/romaine, high fiber monkey biscuits, tofu, hard boiled eggs, and various types of tree boughs (elm, willow, etc.)
In the wild, researchers have found most Matschies’ live alone or in small assemblies, containing maybe a mother and her offspring and one male. Most of the time, the groups have a sex ratio of 1:1. The Matschie’s tree kangaroos are very closely related to Dendrolagus goodfellowi, the Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo, which was once believed to be a subspecies of the Matschie’s tree kangaroos. Matschies’ appear to be scared of humans because they scramble around when humans are nearby and they are very difficult to find in the forests. They spend about 14 to 15 hours of their days sleeping and resting. The Matschie’s tree kangaroos are known for defending their home territory and marking their boundaries.
When the temperature of the environment drastically changes at different times of the year, they are able to maintain a moderate body temperature because of their metabolic rate. Matschies’ have been found to be very susceptible to mycobacterial infections; however, the infections do not seem to be contagious because some individuals that are around infected kangaroos do not appear to get the infection. It seems to be from an avium complex related to tuberculosis, but scientists are still unsure of how exactly it spreads.
Range
Matschie’s tree kangaroos are restricted to the Huon peninsula of Papua New Guinea, a subdivision of Tumbanan faunal province, and are the only tree kangaroos found there. They are also residents on the island of UmboiUmboi Island
Umboi is a volcanic island between the mainland of Papua New Guinea and the island of New Britain. It is separated from New Britain by Dampier Strait and has an elevation of 1,548 m. Umboi is a Holocene complex volcano with no historic eruptions...
, which is just off the coast of Papua New Guinea. However, most scientists believe the tree kangaroos were introduced onto this island and were not originally found there. The Matschies’ prefer to live in deciduous forests and tropical rainforests because they remain in trees for most of their days. They mainly live in the northeast interior of New Guinea and their home range sizes consists of about 25 hectares of the area.
Diet
The Matschie’s tree kangaroos are mainly folivorous, eating anything from leaves, sap, insects, flowers, and nuts. It was also found that they have eaten chickens in captivity as well as feeding on a variety of plants, carrots, lettuce, bananas, potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and yams. Since they eat high fiber foods, they only eat maybe about 1 to 2 hours throughout the day and the other time of the day they are resting and digesting their food. Their digestion is similar to that of the ruminants; they have a large, “tubiform forestomach”, where most of the fermentation and breakdown of tough material takes place at; in the hind stomach, there is a mucosa lining with many glands that help absorption begin here.Reproduction
Tim FlanneryTim Flannery
Timothy Fridtjof Flannery is an Australian mammalogist, palaeontologist, environmentalist and global warming activist....
documents the mating techniques of the Matschies’ in his text Mammals of New Guinea by stating mating occurs when a female advances on a male while on the ground; they touch each other’s noses and click their tongues. Usually the female is aggressive and hits the male but permits him to climb on her within ten minutes, and copulation can last up to sixty minutes afterwards. The gestation period lasts approximately 44.2 days, which is known to be the longest for any of the marsupials. The Matschie’s tree kangaroos have no embryonic diapauses or delayed implantations and are able to get pregnant as soon as the joey leaves the pouch. The joey usually peeks out of the pouch around 22 weeks, will feed on its own about 27.5 weeks, will leave the pouch around 28 weeks, and permanently leave for good around 41 weeks. These tree kangaroos have been found to reach fourteen years in age. In captivity, the tree kangaroos can get pregnant at any time of the year and are known to breed well. The female oestrus cycle is between 54.2 and 56.8 days and is able to produce young between the ages of 2 and 2.5 years of age.
Threats
In 1996, the IUCN classified the Matschie’s tree kangaroos as endangered animals. A lot of the Huon Peninsula trees have been cleared in which the tree kangaroos chiefly inhabit, so there are more grassy areas created and the Matschie’s tree kangaroos’ habitat is being destroyed. They are also threatened by oil drilling, logging, hunting by humans, and rainforest clearing. Some Matschie’s tree kangaroos are hunted by local natives for their meat and fur, while others, such as the people of Yawan, a village in New Guinea, aid in the Matschie’s conservation. The people of Yawan have put aside 100000 acres (404.7 km²) for the Matschie’s preservation.Conservation efforts
Many Matschie’s thrive in captivity and maintain healthy lives interacting with one another. The numbers of tree kangaroos in captivity in North America have been recorded over the years, and in 1997, the Matschie’s tree kangaroos’ population reached a maximum of 90 animals, but it has declined to 53 in the past few years in these conservation zoos. North America developed the Tree Kangaroo Species Survival Plan (TK-SSP) in 1991 and the TK-SSP Master Plan in 1993 to help with their conservation. Conservation education programs have been set up in some schools thanks to Lisa Dabek, a conservation expert for the Matschie’s tree kangaroos, who has dedicated much of her career and life to helping ones in captivity as well as studying some in the wild. Dabek, along with other scientists, have captured many Matschie’s in the wild and collared them so they could study their habits. Collaring them helps to learn their home ranges and the types of environments they stay in so that the scientists can help with conserving those types of areas.Conservation International
Conservation International
Conservation International is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, which seeks to ensure the health of humanity by protecting Earth's ecosystems and biodiversity. CI’s work focuses on six key initiatives that affect human well-being: climate, food security, freshwater...
, an organization that supports the preservation of biodiversity of the Earth, participates in the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program. The Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program is a program that originated from Papua New Guinea and is now based at the Woodland Park Zoo
Woodland Park Zoo
Woodland Park Zoo is a zoological garden around the Phinney Ridge neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. Occupying the western half of Woodland Park, the zoo began as a small menagerie on the estate of Guy C. Phinney, a Canadian-born lumber mill owner and real estate developer...
in Seattle, WA. It is designed to study and conserve the various tree kangaroo species. The program also encourages local villages in Papua New Guinea to help with conservation, enhances the local schools and teachers as well as advancing the medical care for the people, and recognizing particular habitats needed for the tree kangaroos to flourish. The Woodland Park Zoo is very keen on helping the Matschie’s population grow and develop, and they have also seen that mothers develop their young better if they are removed from the males after mating. A Species Survival Plan has been developed by zoos around the world to help conserve the Matschie’s tree kangaroos and stop the destruction of their natural habitat as well as keep healthy populations growing in the zoos. By keeping them in zoos, researchers hope to build up the populations of the Matschie’s. They are strongly committed to building up the population because Matschies’ are the most widely exhibited species in zoos around the world. Scientists are still trying to learn more about Matschie’s tree kangaroos and are conducting studies to watch and help the populations in the wild.
In 2009 the YUS Conservation Area
YUS Conservation Area
YUS Conservation Area is a protected area on the Huon Peninsula, Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea. It was established in 2009 as Papua New Guinea's first conservation area, and named after the Yopno, Uruwa and Som rivers that flow through it...
has been established to protect the habitat of Matschies’ in the northern part of the Huon Peninsula
Huon Peninsula
Huon Peninsula is a large rugged peninsula on the island of New Guinea in Morobe Province, eastern Papua New Guinea. It is named after French explorer Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec who discovered it along with his personal assistant and porter, Henry Ole. The peninsula is dominated by the steep...
. YUS streches over 760km² and includes three rivers: Yopno, Uruwa and Som, after which it was named.
External links
- ARKive - images and movies of the Huon tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus matschiei)
- Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program - saving the tree kangaroos