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Meet Tree Kangaroo

Today I bring you another marsupial, I am seriously thinking about making a special of these incredible animals, almost all marsupials are concentrated in Australia, although there are some that live in other areas such as America and Asia. Today it will be the turn of the tree kangaroo. Come with me to learn more about this incredible marsupial.

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Its scientific name is Dendrolagus matschiei and a direct relative of the terrestrial kangaroo, only that it is this kangaroo as its name indicates lives in the trees. It is still not clear why the kangaroo evolved in such a way, what is known is that this wonderful creature is on the verge of disappearance.

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Its main habitat is in the forests of Australia and New Guinea, is a species that was seen by humans relatively recently, this is mainly due to poor human access for the year 1993 when it was first seen by the Australian scientist Tim Flannery. Tropical rainforests have the perfect trees for the development of this marsupial species, especially the tallest trees.

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It is believed that the kangaroo managed to adapt to the trees as a result of migration and the search for new places found rugged geography which forced it to survive in the trees, especially to protect itself from its natural predators.
In its appearance we can find some resemblance with the Quokka squirrel, although it also looks like a rabbit only a little larger, there is a disproportion of his head with respect to the body, his tail is long as that of his brother's kangaroos terrestrial and serves to maintain the balance in the trees. His limbs are strong and have powerful nails to be able to cling tightly to the branches.

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One of the most curious things about this marsupial is the way it climbs, usually can take some time to get to a point and as it moves in the same direction is returned in the same direction. In addition, like all marsupials has a specialized bag to carry their babies after birth and development is very slow. In its adult stage, they can arrive to weigh 11 kilograms, whereas the females are smaller, such dimorphism can make that the females arrive to weigh 8 kilograms.

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Around its coat, we find that it can be brown with some yellow stripes and very bright, in other areas of its body predominate dark colors and even dark yellow in its abdomen.
As for its food habits we have that this marsupial species is totally herbivorous, with perfectly sharp teeth to cut and grind any type of leaves, also do not suffer from any stomach problem when digesting the leaves because they have powerful bacteria friends in their stomachs that are responsible for decomposing the leaves easily. It is common to see it jump up to 10 meters from one branch to another. They eat a great variety of fruits and flowers.

But not everything is agility or dexterity this animal spends much time of the day sleeping, spends up to 14 hours sleeping, this is mainly due to its diet based on leaves which gives very little energy.

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As for their reproduction we have is a quite solitary and independent species, only grouped when it is the mating season which is usually between the months of March to October. In only 2 years of age after being born the females of this species will be able to reach their sexual maturity. Gestation lasts approximately 11 months.
It is currently in danger of extinction that is produced by poaching to sell copies of kangaroo tree in the exotic pet market as well as intense logging and deforestation of the forests of New Guinea.