Lumholtz's tree-kangaroo
Common name: Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo
Other names: Boongary or marbi (Indigenous)
Scientific name: Dendrolagus lumholtzi (Gk. dendron = tree, lagos = hare,
lumholtzi = after Carl Lumholtz, Norwegian explorer)
Family: Wallabies, kangaroos and tree-kangaroos
Conservation status: This species is listed as rare in Queensland (Nature Conservation Act 1992). It is also a Queensland endemic (i.e. only found in Queensland).
Description:
Body length: Males: 520–590mm; Females: 480mm
Tail length: Males: 600–736mm; Females: 700mm
Weight: Males: 3.7–10.0kg; Females: 5.2–7.0kg
The forearms of the Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo are long and heavily muscled, and the hindfeet are short and broad. The under-surface of the hindfeet is fused into a soft pad that can mould itself around branches and tree trunks to help in climbing. The front feet also have curved claws and rough, bumpy pads on the underside for gripping when climbing. They have a very long non-prehensile tail that is used for balance when they are resting or moving along a branch. The fur is blackish-brown sprinkled with a lighter colour on the lower part of the back and blackish-brown on the lower half of the tail. Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo is one of two Australian tree-kangaroo species and can be distinguished from its sibling species, the Bennett’s tree-kangaroo Dendrolagus bennettianus, by the lighter-coloured band across the forehead and down each side of the face.
Habitat and distribution:
David Fleay Wildlife Park on the Gold Coast in Queensland is one of only two places where Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroos are on display.
Life history and behaviour: The Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo is primarily a folivore (i.e. leaf-eater). It also feeds on many fruits and has been known to take cultivated maize from farms adjacent to its rainforest habitat.
Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroos do not appear to have a definite breeding season. Males “court” females by uttering a soft clucking sound and softly pawing her head and shoulders. When the female moves away the male follows, pawing at the base of her tail. Following mating there is a gestation period of unknown length (some other species of tree-kangaroo have gestation periods of 44–45 days — the longest gestation of any marsupial in the world). The female gives birth to a single joey that attaches to a teat in the pouch (the teat becomes enlarged prior to birth).
Tree-kangaroos are nocturnal and they spend the daylight hours sleeping hunched over in a sitting position high in tree canopies.
Living in a high rainfall area, tree-kangaroos need to be able to stay dry. To do this, the fur covering their bodies is arranged so that it points outward from a point near the middle of the back, allowing water to run off the fur while they are sleeping.
They climb trees by gripping the trunk or branch with the forelimbs and then pushing up with the hindlimbs (moving in reverse — tail-first — when descending). Nearing the ground, a tree-kangaroo will release its hold on the trunk and kick off with its hindlegs and land on the rainforest floor and hop away. On broad horizontal branches and on the ground they may use a hopping gait or walk. Tree-kangaroos are the only group of macropods that can move their hindlimbs independently. When disturbed, they can jump to another tree or jump to the ground from a height of up to 15m. Generally Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroos are solitary animals but males will be aggressive toward others entering their territory; however, in captivity the males are tolerant of females. They are a sedentary species with small home ranges of around 0.7ha for the females and 1.8ha for the males, and may stay within their home range even after a large disturbance rather than retreating to nearby intact forest.
Threatening processes: The main threat is clearing of their rainforest habitat, but this has lessened with the declaration of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroos appear to be able to persist in fragmented habitat and may use habitat corridors. It is possible that their unwillingness to move from their established home ranges may place them at risk where even small levels of clearing occur. This may also reduce the likelihood of successful relocation. There is an unknown virus or disease that has been known to create blindness in some individuals.
Actions: The Action Plan for Australian Marsupials and Monotremes has identified the need to monitor their distribution and abundance and study their habitat utilisation of fragmented and regenerating rainforest. Reforesting areas on the Atherton Tableland should ultimately increase the amount of rainforest habitat suitable for the Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo.
Further information:
Flannery, T.F., Martin, R. and Szalay, A. (1996). Tree kangaroos. A curious natural history. Reed Books, Melbourne.
Johnson, P.M. (1995). Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo Dendrolagus
lumholtzi in R. Strahan (ed.), The Mammals of Australia. Reed Books,
Sydney.
Johnson, P.M. (2003). Kangaroos of Queensland. Queensland Museum, Brisbane.
Lumholtz, C. (1890). Among Cannibals. An account of four years’ travels in Australia and of camp life with the Aborigines of Queensland. Murray, London.
Maxwell, S., Burbidge, A.A. and Morris, K.D. (1996). Action Plan for Australian Marsupials and Monotremes. Wildlife Australia, Canberra.
Newell, G.R. (1999) Responses of Lumholtz's tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus lumholtzi) to loss of habitat within a tropical rainforest fragment. Biological Conservation 91, 181-189.
Last updated: 30 August 2005
