Rainforest Animals - Black Tree Kangaroo

Black Tree Kangaroo: Dendrolagus ursinus - New Guinea

Nine species of tree kangaroo are listed; seven of them live in the dense rain forest of New Guinea, while the other two species inhabit the forests of northern Australia.

These animals are about the same size as a wallaby but differ in appearance and have much longer forelimbs and broader feet on the back legs.

Although the tree kangaroo may look rather slow and clumsy on the ground, it can climb quite quickly and with surprising agility. Unlike the majority of kangaroos, tree kangaroos are nocturnal animals, spending the daytime asleep in the trees and then coming down to ground level to spend the night on the forest floor.

Once again, despite their awkward shape for tree-dwelling, these animals can move well in trees and have been known to jump 20 feet from one tree to another. They descend trees tail first. Food consists of leaves and fruit.