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Bennett's tree-kangaroo facts for kids

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Bennett's tree-kangaroo
Bennett's Tree-kangaroo.jpg
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Genus:
Dendrolagus
Species:
bennettianus
Bennett's Tree Kangaroo area.png
Bennett's tree-kangaroo range

Bennett's tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus bennettianus) is a large tree-kangaroo. Males can weigh from 11.5 kg up to almost 14 kg (25 to 31 lbs), and female about 8 to 10.6 kg (17.6 to 23 lbs). They are very agile and are able to leap 9 metres (30 ft) down to another branch. They have been known to drop as far as 18 metres (59 ft) to the ground without injury.

Habitat

This very elusive (cryptic) tree-kangaroo is found in both mountain and lowland tropical rain forests south of Cooktown, Queensland to just north of the Daintree River. It is occasionally found in sclerophyll woodlands. It lives on the leaves of rainforest trees, notably Schefflera actinophylla (the umbrella tree), vines, ferns and various wild fruits.

Diet

The Bennett's tree-kangaroo is a herbivore. It eats leaves from 33 different plant species.

Now that it is rarely hunted by Aborigines, its main predators are pythons and the dingo. It is thought to be the closest tree-kangaroo to the ancestral form.

Physical description

Bennett's Tree-kangaroo mother & baby
Bennett's tree-kangaroo mother and baby

Like other tree-kangaroos it has longer forelimbs and shorter hindlimbs than terrestrial kangaroos and a long bushy tail. It is mostly dark brown above and lighter fawn on chin, throat and lower abdomen. The forehead and muzzle are greyish. The feet and hands are black. The tail has a black patch at the base and a light patch on the upper part. The ears are short and rounded.

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