Thursday, November 29, 2007

Climbing kangaroo

As you’d expect of an animal called a Tree Kangaroo, they are good climbers. They actually leap from tree to tree. On the ground, however, they are awkward and slow.

Compared to ground dwelling kangaroos, tree kangaroos have longer tails, stronger forelimbs, shorter and broader hind feet, longer claws and spongy soles on their feet and front paws—all which help with balancing and gripping.

Looking online I found 11 varieties of tree kangaroo. I like this picture of the Buerger's Tree Kangaroo as you can see the unique coloration well. However, only 2 species of tree kangaroos live in Australia: Lumholtz Tree-Kangaroo and the Bennett's Tree Kangaroo. The rest live in Papau New Guinea.

Three species are endangered due to loss of habitat.

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