Tree kangaroo
Mammals
Some Endangered
facts
Tree kangaroos eat mostly tree leaves. They sometimes eat buds, flowers, and fruit, too.
Other kangaroos live on the ground, but tree kangaroos live high in trees.
description
Description
High climbers
Tree kangaroos don’t hop as well as their kangaroo relatives, but there’s not much room for hopping when you’re in a tree. That’s where tree kangaroos spend most of their time. They can climb higher than a 10-story building! Sometimes they come down to the ground to move to a different tree, but they can also jump from tree to tree. Strong arms and legs, and long, curved claws are adaptations for this way of life.
Bringing the baby
A baby tree kangaroo is called a joey. Where is a joey while its mother is high in the forest? It’s safe inside her warm pouch. Like other marsupials, kangaroo joeys are tiny when they are born. (One could probably fit up your nose!) They grow faster in mom’s pouch, where they are nourished by her milk.
Trouble in the treetops
Many kinds of tree kangaroos are critically endangered. The biggest threat to their survival is people who want to change forests into places to harvest wood, grow crops, raise livestock, or build cities. Tree kangaroos on the island of New Guinea face another threat, too. People hunt them for food.
