Tree-kangaroo

Tree Kangaroos are any of the species of kangaroo in the taxonomic genus Dendrolagus. They are considered an iconic species due to there special ability to jump huge distances between trees of jungle canopies. Endangerment is a very familiar word to the Tree Kangaroos due to habitat loss and road kills. Just because these precious animals are endangered doesn't mean they are out of a home; these marsupials tend to live in luscious tropical and damp rain forests that consists of tons of nocturnal animals for food.

Life doesn't just consist of death but also consists of life. Tree Kangaroo females tend to be pregnant for approximately 40-50 days or 2 months. After the mother has given birth the baby enters the pouch to finish development of major body parts. Many people ask how these marsupials are able to leap great distances; this is because of there large feet and strong muscular legs. The toes on a Tree Kangaroo are used for balance as they leap across fragile branches, these toes can reach a size of 40cm to a enormous size of 12in. These tree leapers around Australia and Indonesia are being considered as one of the most unforgettable and luxurious animals your eyes will ever see.

Body Design
All Tree Kangaroos tend to be a shade of brown or light tan color to blend in with the tree bark or wood. Tree kangaroos have strong sharp teeth for ripping or tearing leaves off tree branches due to their protruding incisors in the front of their mouth. Marsupials tend to have a pouch around the abdomen area in which an undeveloped baby marsupial crawls into this pouch and attaches itself to the mothers mammary gland (nipple) for a food source. This is where the baby marsupial finishes its development into a full grown baby Tree Kangaroo. Kangaroos in general are known as macro-pods which means big footed.

The big feet they have are used for balance and propulsion when they jump from place to place. Tree Kangaroo feet can range from 40cm to 12in. The Tree Kangaroos hind legs are full of muscle and huge strong bones for the ability to propel themselves great distances through the canopies of the jungle.

Life Cycle
Female tree Kangaroos give birth to one or two young after a gestation period (a period of pregnancy) of approximately 40 days. After the joey (baby marsupial) is given birth it then crawls into the mothers pouch and attaches itself to a mammary gland were it finishes its development into a complete animal.

After the marsupial is fully grown it will leave the mothers pouch but continue to go back to the pouch for a resting place or milk. the baby will continue to go in and out of his/her mothers pouch until about 18 months then will leave to fend for itself. life expectancy is estimated to be about 20 years.

Ecology
Most Tree Kangaroos live in the tropical jungles of Australia and Indonesia. Almost all Tree Kangaroos are protected under nature conservation acts. For an example, the Bennett's Tree Kangaroo lives on the coastal lowlands of eucalyptus forests. Most Tree kangaroos are rarely ever seen below 300m altitude because of air pressure and rain forest density.

Most Tree Kangaroos love wetlands with damp wet soils and tall luxurious trees. Tree kangaroos also tend to love places that has other nocturnal animals to feed on because they are nocturnal as well. Scientist have found out that these marsupials are as well active during the day as they are at night. Tree Kangaroos are a small but very wide spread species of caring and loving marsupials.

Threats
Tree kangaroos have been identified as an endangered species. These marsupials are endangered to to many threats such as habitat destruction and as weird as it may seem, cars are also a major threat. Approximately in the last 15 years over 2000 tree kangaroos have been killed. A little over 75% of these tree kangaroo deaths were from car run overs.

Another reason Tree kangaroos are endangered is that people have decided that Tree kangaroos lives are not important and are destroying there homes (rain forests) for agriculture, dairy farming and logging. In some ways they may not seem to be endangered but they have such a small amount in numbers it is hard for them to maintain genetic health (reproduce).

Video
Baby Joey in mothers pouch.... 6f8yp0PBIS4