In Australia,
some people tell tall stories.
It is unfair to describe these as lies because they are told more to
entertain than to deceive. This
art form is not confined to Australia, but has been common in the past
with some of the Australians who spent a lot of time in the remote
areas.
One day, one of the men who was known to his friends as a teller of
tall stories returned from a remote area of Queensland with a very tall
story. He claimed that he had
seen a Kangaroo climbing a tree.
If you think about the shape and behaviour of Kangaroos, this was quite
unbelievable. No doubt some of
his friends had a good laugh.
There are two
species of Tree Kangaroo in Australia, as well as eight in New Guinea.
Origin
The Kangaroo
group of animals are descended from a tree dwelling Possum like ancestor
which came down from the trees developed over the ages into a large
group of species. One of these
went back to the trees while still retaining many Kangaroo like
characteristics.
Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo
The smaller of
the two Australian species is called Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo after the
Reverend Carl Lumholtz. It
scientific name is Dendrolagus
lumholtzi.
Good
Flavour
The generic name Dendrolagus
means Tree Hare. This was
given to the Tree Kangaroos because they were considered to be good to
eat. Hunting as well as the
destruction and fragmentation of their habitat have severely reduced the
numbers of this animal and they are endangered species.
Seeing them
The easiest
place to see the Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo is in the Crater Lakes
National Park in Queensland. This
park is in two sections, each centred around one of the two Crater
Lakes of Queensland. These are
Lakes Eacham and Barrine. Both
are easily reached by road from the city of Cairns, the "capital"
of North Queensland.
The Tree
Kangaroos are mainly seen at night when they are more active. The ideal weather condition for
seeing them is when there is light drizzle because they are more likely
to be near the ends of the branches in that weather. Heavy rain makes them retreat to
cover.
Food
The Tree
Kangaroos eat leaves from a wide variety of plants, including some that
are either toxic or distasteful to many animals.
Tree kangaroo on a branch in Port Douglas, Queensland Zoo. Shot in December 2005.
