August 12, 2022 • 21 mins
For this episode of Amazing Wildlife, we’re traveling to the cloud forests of the island of Papua New Guinea to find an animal found nowhere else in the world! Locals call Matschie’s tree kangaroos “ghosts of the forest” because they are so hard to spot and move quickly. Hosts Rick and Ebone discuss how this kangaroo is uniquely adapted for climbing trees and how zoos are working together to save this endangered species. Katie Christofferson, senior wildlife care specialist, joins the show to give more fascinating facts about this marsupial.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hi, I'm Ebony Money. Then I'm Rick Sports. Welcome to
Amazing Wildlife, where we explore unique stories of wildlife from
around the world and uncover fascinating animal facts. This podcast
is a production of High Heart Radio and San Diego
Zoo Wildlife Alliance, an international nonprofit conservation organization behind the
San Diego Zoo and Safari Park. High in the Northern
(00:26):
Mountains on the island of Papua New Guinea and the
Cloud Forest, lives an animal found nowhere else in the world.
Matches tree kangaroos spend most of their lives seventy one
feet above ground. The matches tree kangaroo doesn't look like
the well known ground kangaroos, So Rick, what makes the
(00:48):
matches tree kangaroo a kangaroo? Well? Ebany, I think it's
safe to say that it's all in the name and
the bones. When we look at it from how they
are classified, or looking at it through the taxonomy lens
of you will we know that tree kangaroo's tooth structure
and skeletal structure is the same as other macropods or
the scientific family of marsupials that includes kangaroos, wallabies, and
(01:10):
wallaroos and so on, and now most of the species
in the macropod a or our terrestrial or ground dwellers,
But at some point the tree kangaroos started to evolve
into tree dwellers. Interestingly enough, more recent scientific development that
allows us to look closely at the genetic building blocks
suggests that tree kangaroos are more closely related to rock
(01:33):
wallabies than any other macropod. You know that said wallabies
and kangaroos are closely related. Oh and for those who
don't know what a matt Chee's tree kangaroo looks like.
They have a reddish sort of mahogany coloration on their
back and a dark stripe down the spine. Its limbs
and feet and ear tips are sort of a yellowish color,
and its face has sort of a white cream color
(01:53):
to it. And one other fun thing about the tree kangaroos.
There is a special whirl of hair sort of in
the middle of their spine, and the hair then goes
sort of forwards from that world towards the nose and
from the world down towards the tail. If you have
a dogger cat at home, you know, when you pet them,
all the hair lays in one direction. But for tree kangaroos,
that world is important and the way the hair lays
is important because when it's raining, they'll curl up into
(02:16):
a ball and that world becomes the top part and
all the water can run off, keeping the body dry. Wow,
that's pretty cool. So how did ground kangaroos like the
red kangaroo become so much more well known than tree kangaroos? Rick,
do you think it's possibly like the remoteness of the
animal's habitat um the fact that they're seventy two fet
(02:38):
above ground. Yeah, Ebony, I think it's not just the
matches tree kangaroo's remote habitat though. I mean, there are
a total of fourteen recognized species of tree kangaroo and
most people haven't even heard of one of them. So
I'd say that it's probably a combination of their location
the dense forest areas, and and the fact that it's
just kind of very remote and even if you are
(02:58):
able to go to the forest where they live, they
can be very difficult to find. Therefore, they just aren't
as well known outside of their native range. And when
we are looking at the matches tree kangaroo specifically well,
they have a very small home range in the mountain
cloud forests. They tend to only be found at high
elevations up to eleven thousand feet. So when you add
all of that together, not many people have seen them,
(03:21):
and not many people even know much about them beyond
their native habitat. So you mentioned earlier about the look
of the matches kangaroo, but to expand on that, I
was noticing how they have thick fur and cute endearing
faces that make them almost look like a plush toy.
Do these features serve them in some way? Well, yes, Ebany,
(03:42):
they do look a lot like a plush toy. But
I can assure you their coat is coarse and a
little bit oily to the touch, not nearly as soft
and cuddly as a plush toy. That thick, coarse coat
helps them in a few ways. The fur is thick
enough to insulate a tree kangaroo against damp weather, and
the oily coat helps repel that water. Are similar to
Iz saying the way the hair lays is very important. Now,
(04:03):
this is all sort of a great combination of a
coat you would want to have when you live in
the wet cloud forest, like they do, and it's coloring
camouflages for protection against predators, including humans. Predators. Okay, we'll
come back to that. But one of the kangaroo's most
identifiable characteristics that people often think of when you think
of a kangaroo is their ability to jump or hop.
(04:26):
How do the tree kangaroos there in this category, Well, yeah,
let's jump into exactly how tree kangaroos move around trees,
shall we. When it comes to the classic hopping movement
of a kangaroo, tree kangaroos cannady to hop around on
the ground, albeit not quite as well as their bigger
terrestrial kangaroos do, but they can. When it comes to
life in the trees, though well, hopping doesn't really serve
(04:47):
quite as well as it does is a way to
move around on the ground. So tree kangaroos have long,
sharp claws both front and hind feet that help them
climb the trees with ease, and they have muscular or
arms that give a strong grip, allowing them to hold
on pretty much their whole body weight to the branches
if they need to. That coupled with patches of textured
(05:08):
skin on the feet that also helped with gripping means
they are well suited for life in the trees. And
a fun side note, our friend, the Matchee's tree kangaroo
is believed to be the best vertical climber of all
of the tree kangaroo species. Since tree kangaroos spend so
much of their time in trees, does this mean that
they're eating leaves and they're sustaining themselves off of food
(05:30):
that they find in the trees. Well, I mean, before
we hop into that, I just want to say we've
had some fun in the past sharing interesting words with
our audience, So here's another one. Fliverous Matchee's cheat kangaroos
are full of oars, meaning that they eat leaves from
a variety of forest trees. And like you pointed out,
they live their life in the trees, so it's very
(05:50):
convenient that their main source of food is right there
for them to have and worth noting they also supplement
their very highly leafy diet with some fruit and flowers,
may some tender grasses when the season's right, and even
tree bark. We've mentioned that Matchi's tree kangaroos spend most
of their time above ground, but when might they come
(06:11):
to the ground well Ean. Although tree is right there
in their name, it is not uncommon to see them
on the ground. Usually they are just moving from one
tree to another when you do see them on the ground,
but they can also spend time on the ground enjoying
some fallen fruit or foraging for some seasonal plants that
might be growing on the forest floor. It's estimated that
there are fewer than twenty adult matches tree kangaroos left
(06:35):
in their native habitat. That's down, Rick. Can you talk
about the work being done to turn those conditions around? Oh? Yeah,
seventy The matchee s tree kangaroos. They are listed as
an endangered species on the International Union for Conservation of
Nature's Red List, and the biggest challenge is based on
things going on in their habitat like mining, logging, and hunting. Now, thankfully,
(06:58):
a lot of work is being done to help minimize
these challenges, including land and water protection and a lot
of educational awareness programs, and of course, zoos have stepped
into help too. In the nineteen nineties, zoos in North
America knew they could make a difference, and they created
a species survival plan for tree kangaroos, a plan that
carefully matches individuals across the zoos to ensure the best
(07:21):
genetic pairing for their mates to help create a very
diverse and safe population. And one of the biggest tree
kangaroo conservation efforts comes from our friends at the Woodland
Park Zoo in Seattle. They are in partnership with the
Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program, working with local communities in rural
Papua New Guinea to protect the endangered Matchees tree kangaroo
in the habitat in which it lives. The program helped
(07:44):
to establish the country's first and only nationally recognized conservation
area and works with communities and governments to address the
local needs including livelihoods, health and education. It really is
a great example of how conservation can really make a
difference when we all together in partnership. Coming up, we'll
be talking to one of our own senior wildlife care
(08:05):
specialists who helps to care for the tree kangaroos at
the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. But first this now
it's time for the San Diego Zoom Minute, an opportunity
for you to learn what's new at the zoo and
Safari Park. In May, the San Diego Zoos Fire Park
(08:27):
opened his Walk About Australia habitat, and with its opening
it became one of the few locations where you can
see Matche's tree kangaroos in person. Since the tree dwelling
kangaroos arrived at the San Diego Zoosa Fire Park, they
have already welcomed a new Joey born right there at
Walk About Australia. This was significant for the San Diego
zou Safari Park, but even more significant for the population
(08:48):
of Matche's tree kangaroos, whose species continues to need all
of the help we can get. And did you know
fun fact jumped to it matchis tree kangaroos can leave
sixty feet to the ground without injury, and even though
tree kangaroos are quiet by nature, they still manage to
get their points across. They communicate via visual display, touch
(09:12):
and some vocalization, and most importantly through chemical cues. With
the small expressive face, a prominent pink nose, and teddy
bear like ears, matches tree kangaroos seem like a cross
(09:32):
between an opossum, a koala, and maybe a bit of
a house cat thrown in While these marsupios have the
kangaroo name, they bear little resemblance to their much bigger cousins.
Now Here to tell us a lot more about the
matches tree kangaroo is Senior walife care Specialist Katie Christofferson.
(09:55):
She's with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Hi Katie, Hi, Hey,
how are you doing great? Thank you? So tell us
about your position as a wildlife care specialists and what
that means for your role with working with animals such
as the tree kangaroos. Yeah. So, as a wildlife care
specialists at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, we're tasked
(10:18):
with the care of the wildlife on our specific team.
From myself, I work on the Australia team and we're
tasked with ensuring their habitats are in tip top shape.
We want to make sure they're eating all of their
a lot of diet, to make sure they are exactly
where we want them to be as far as their
weight and how they're looking and feeling and acting. We're
(10:41):
also in charge of and this is the really exciting
part about my job as we're also in charge of
being a part of their conservation through our breeding programs
that we have through Asia accredited SZUS, So the Matchi's
tree kangaroos have their breeding program. We do have a
breeding pair with us at the park. But we all
so maintain all sorts of behaviors as we use in
(11:04):
our industry, training the animals that we work with in
order to participate in their own veterinary care voluntarily as well.
So there are fourteen species of tree kangaroos and their
native to Australia and Papua New Guinea, Indonesia. How is
this environment recreated at the San Diego Zoos Safari Park. Yeah,
(11:27):
a lot goes into it. A lot of different departments
are involved. So we try and match the species of
plants that are found in their natural environment. We try
and get as close as we can to matching the temperature,
the weather, the humidity, everything that we possibly can for
them to ensure that their body's physiology is being taken
(11:49):
care of as best as we possibly can. We also
want them to feel comfortable in their environment where guests
would be able to see them. So there's lots of
for tree kangaroos, lots of foliage for them, lots of
trees for them, to climb in um in places for
them to hide if they want to get out of
the sun, or if they feel like they want to
take a snooze for a little while. So tree kangaroos
(12:10):
are a very interesting niche that people may not be
as familiar with. Can you talk about any behaviors that
matches tree kangaroos share with their larger ground kangaroo cousins
or any differences. One of the major differences is that
they climb trees. There are boreal They are in the
trees the majority of the time. Occasionally they'll come down
(12:33):
to the ground to feed, and oftentimes during breeding interactions
they will be on the ground as well. Some of
the similarities that they have would be their dentition. Their
digestive tracks are obviously similar, but they also will lick
their forearms and their chests if they're stressed from heat,
if it's too hot, or if they're worried about predators
(12:55):
being around. Instead of sweating so like a dog would pant,
we would swear as people, the kangaroos or macropods in
general would lick their forearms and as that saliva evaporates,
it cools their body off, so the San Diego Zoo
Safari Park has been caring for Matchi's tree kangaroos since
and I understand there's already been since some exciting birth announcements.
(13:20):
Can you talk about that. Yes, our first two tree
kangaroos that we had, Polly and Spike, successfully had a
Joey who was named Luca. Polly and Luca lived together
for the appropriate amount of time that a joey and
mother would be living together. You were able to see
them as a guest out in their habitat, grooming each other,
(13:40):
doing all of the wonderful things that we like to
see tree kangaroos doing. And Polly has since been moved
to another institution for an opportunity to express her valuable
genetics for the tree kangaroo community and has actually been
successful a second time with another Joey that she's currently
caring for. So would the process be considered assisted breeding
(14:03):
or or how is it described? Because I just wanted
to know, like what all goes into the process of
the tree king or is breeding under human care? Yeah,
that's actually a great question. It's quite scientific. Typically, would
collect fecals from our females at least three times a week,
which then gets sent to a reproductive physiologists where they
do fecal hormonal essays and they track her estrogen levels
(14:26):
and give us graphs to give us the opportunity to
match her actual hormonal activity with the behaviors that we're
seeing and recording from our tree kangaroos throughout the week.
So we compare those two bits of information together to
make our best educated guests to putting the tree kangaroos
together when they would be most successful. So they're solitary
(14:48):
by nature, so we have them separated as they would
be more comfortable being. And then when we feel that
those signs have come together and we feel like it's
time to put them together, we would then give them
that opportunity to breed, sometimes one day and sometimes we
leave them together for up to three or four days,
depending on how they're doing with each other. And why
is this necessary? Is this just a precaution or is
(15:11):
this needed to increase the chances of survival for this animal.
So tree kangaroos are listed as endangered on the IUCN
Red List and their population in the wild is declining.
So having this population in the United States that we
can have as a backup to be able to reintroduce
(15:33):
genetics into the wild if we were able to eventually.
Is the basis for keeping the breeding programs active. In
speaking of the wild or nature, one of the things
that has been interesting about having these conversations is learning
about the important roles that these animals often play in
(15:54):
the ecosystem. So what role do the tree kangaroos play
in the ecosystem? Yeah, so tree kangaroos are going to
be fullivores, so they eat a lot of foliage, different
types of flowers, sometimes fruits, which also helps to aid
in pollination. A lot of tree species would really rely
(16:14):
on the consumption of those bits and fruits. So what
are some of the biggest challenges that matchi's tree kangaroo's
face in nature? I would imagine that deforestation is probably
high on the list. Yeah, it's very high on the list.
That creates habitat fragmentation. There's obviously fewer places for them
(16:34):
to reside if their trees are disappearing, development of local
human communities where roads are being built, and even dogs,
feral dogs, wild dogs present a threat to the tree kangaroos.
But another one that's a little bit more challenging to
touch on is the threat that humans directly play in
(16:55):
the role for tree kangaroos being endangered human population increase
and encroachment obviously, but they're also caught for their meat
for bush meat, and their fur is traded and some
ritualistic types of trade as well. Wow, is there anything
being done in an effort to improve the human wildlife
(17:17):
coexistence near the tree kangaroo's natural habitat? Absolutely, the tree
kangaroos being a part of ASA's Safe Program. The program
itself is a framework that protects the threatened species. It
builds on established recovery plans that are already in action
in the United States within those as accredited zoos and
(17:39):
in the environment in which they're found in the wild.
And it prioritizes collaboration between other accredited institutions so that
everybody is on the same page and really putting the
efforts and the funding into protecting that species as a whole. So, Katie,
with this collaboration, what has been decided, what's being done,
What are some of the next steps. It's some of
(18:00):
the next steps would be funding for re establishing some
of the natural environments for the tree kangaroos, education for
local communities to help them understand and cohabitate better with
the tree kangaroos, and working on the fundraising and the
educational outreach in the United States, just by providing people
(18:24):
the opportunity to see these creatures on their vacation, so
to speak, and creating some passion and desire for the
regular public to want to help and donate and be
a part of the process. What's the learning opportunity for
people who have the opportunity to observe a tree kangaro
(18:47):
One of the biggest things we hope that all guests
can take away at the Safari Park with our tree
kangaroo habitat is the inspiration and the knowledge that there
are species that maybe people didn't know about before, and
they can become a little bit more aware that there
are more species out there than we even realize that
(19:09):
need protection, They need people to care about them, and
most certainly, they need people to want to preserve the
environments in which they reside. What would you say is
the best part of going to work every day at
the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. One of my favorite
things about my job and coming into work every day
(19:32):
is I get the opportunity to not only develop a
relationship with specific individuals as far as the tree kangaroos
or the other species that we work with, but developing
a relationship with a species, especially an endangered species, as
a whole is really incredible and you learn how they
fit into the environment perfectly, and you learn how they
(19:55):
are a valued part of their environment as well. Thank
you so much for talking with us. We've been talking
to Katie Christofferson, eight, senior wildlife care specialist working with
mammals at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Thank you,
thanks for listening. We hope you enjoyed learning about the
matches tree kangaroo. Be sure to subscribe and tune into
(20:19):
next week's episode, in which we bring to the story
of a bird species that many call a living dinosaur.
I'm Ebony Money and I'm Rich Schwartz. Thanks for listening.
If you would like to find out more about San
Diego Zoo Wild Left Alliance, please visit sdz W a
dot org. Amazing Wildlife is a production of I Heart Radio.
(20:42):
Our producer is Nikkia Swinton and our executive producer is
Marcy to Peanut. Our audio engineer and editor is Sierra Spreen.
For more shows from My Heart Radio, check out the
I heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen
to your favorite shows.
Hi, I'm Ebony Money. Then I'm Rick Sports. Welcome to
Amazing Wildlife, where we explore unique stories of wildlife from
around the world and uncover fascinating animal facts. This podcast
is a production of High Heart Radio and San Diego
Zoo Wildlife Alliance, an international nonprofit conservation organization behind the
San Diego Zoo and Safari Park. High in the Northern
(00:26):
Mountains on the island of Papua New Guinea and the
Cloud Forest, lives an animal found nowhere else in the world.
Matches tree kangaroos spend most of their lives seventy one
feet above ground. The matches tree kangaroo doesn't look like
the well known ground kangaroos, So Rick, what makes the
(00:48):
matches tree kangaroo a kangaroo? Well? Ebany, I think it's
safe to say that it's all in the name and
the bones. When we look at it from how they
are classified, or looking at it through the taxonomy lens
of you will we know that tree kangaroo's tooth structure
and skeletal structure is the same as other macropods or
the scientific family of marsupials that includes kangaroos, wallabies, and
(01:10):
wallaroos and so on, and now most of the species
in the macropod a or our terrestrial or ground dwellers,
But at some point the tree kangaroos started to evolve
into tree dwellers. Interestingly enough, more recent scientific development that
allows us to look closely at the genetic building blocks
suggests that tree kangaroos are more closely related to rock
(01:33):
wallabies than any other macropod. You know that said wallabies
and kangaroos are closely related. Oh and for those who
don't know what a matt Chee's tree kangaroo looks like.
They have a reddish sort of mahogany coloration on their
back and a dark stripe down the spine. Its limbs
and feet and ear tips are sort of a yellowish color,
and its face has sort of a white cream color
(01:53):
to it. And one other fun thing about the tree kangaroos.
There is a special whirl of hair sort of in
the middle of their spine, and the hair then goes
sort of forwards from that world towards the nose and
from the world down towards the tail. If you have
a dogger cat at home, you know, when you pet them,
all the hair lays in one direction. But for tree kangaroos,
that world is important and the way the hair lays
is important because when it's raining, they'll curl up into
(02:16):
a ball and that world becomes the top part and
all the water can run off, keeping the body dry. Wow,
that's pretty cool. So how did ground kangaroos like the
red kangaroo become so much more well known than tree kangaroos? Rick,
do you think it's possibly like the remoteness of the
animal's habitat um the fact that they're seventy two fet
(02:38):
above ground. Yeah, Ebony, I think it's not just the
matches tree kangaroo's remote habitat though. I mean, there are
a total of fourteen recognized species of tree kangaroo and
most people haven't even heard of one of them. So
I'd say that it's probably a combination of their location
the dense forest areas, and and the fact that it's
just kind of very remote and even if you are
(02:58):
able to go to the forest where they live, they
can be very difficult to find. Therefore, they just aren't
as well known outside of their native range. And when
we are looking at the matches tree kangaroo specifically well,
they have a very small home range in the mountain
cloud forests. They tend to only be found at high
elevations up to eleven thousand feet. So when you add
all of that together, not many people have seen them,
(03:21):
and not many people even know much about them beyond
their native habitat. So you mentioned earlier about the look
of the matches kangaroo, but to expand on that, I
was noticing how they have thick fur and cute endearing
faces that make them almost look like a plush toy.
Do these features serve them in some way? Well, yes, Ebany,
(03:42):
they do look a lot like a plush toy. But
I can assure you their coat is coarse and a
little bit oily to the touch, not nearly as soft
and cuddly as a plush toy. That thick, coarse coat
helps them in a few ways. The fur is thick
enough to insulate a tree kangaroo against damp weather, and
the oily coat helps repel that water. Are similar to
Iz saying the way the hair lays is very important. Now,
(04:03):
this is all sort of a great combination of a
coat you would want to have when you live in
the wet cloud forest, like they do, and it's coloring
camouflages for protection against predators, including humans. Predators. Okay, we'll
come back to that. But one of the kangaroo's most
identifiable characteristics that people often think of when you think
of a kangaroo is their ability to jump or hop.
(04:26):
How do the tree kangaroos there in this category, Well, yeah,
let's jump into exactly how tree kangaroos move around trees,
shall we. When it comes to the classic hopping movement
of a kangaroo, tree kangaroos cannady to hop around on
the ground, albeit not quite as well as their bigger
terrestrial kangaroos do, but they can. When it comes to
life in the trees, though well, hopping doesn't really serve
(04:47):
quite as well as it does is a way to
move around on the ground. So tree kangaroos have long,
sharp claws both front and hind feet that help them
climb the trees with ease, and they have muscular or
arms that give a strong grip, allowing them to hold
on pretty much their whole body weight to the branches
if they need to. That coupled with patches of textured
(05:08):
skin on the feet that also helped with gripping means
they are well suited for life in the trees. And
a fun side note, our friend, the Matchee's tree kangaroo
is believed to be the best vertical climber of all
of the tree kangaroo species. Since tree kangaroos spend so
much of their time in trees, does this mean that
they're eating leaves and they're sustaining themselves off of food
(05:30):
that they find in the trees. Well, I mean, before
we hop into that, I just want to say we've
had some fun in the past sharing interesting words with
our audience, So here's another one. Fliverous Matchee's cheat kangaroos
are full of oars, meaning that they eat leaves from
a variety of forest trees. And like you pointed out,
they live their life in the trees, so it's very
(05:50):
convenient that their main source of food is right there
for them to have and worth noting they also supplement
their very highly leafy diet with some fruit and flowers,
may some tender grasses when the season's right, and even
tree bark. We've mentioned that Matchi's tree kangaroos spend most
of their time above ground, but when might they come
(06:11):
to the ground well Ean. Although tree is right there
in their name, it is not uncommon to see them
on the ground. Usually they are just moving from one
tree to another when you do see them on the ground,
but they can also spend time on the ground enjoying
some fallen fruit or foraging for some seasonal plants that
might be growing on the forest floor. It's estimated that
there are fewer than twenty adult matches tree kangaroos left
(06:35):
in their native habitat. That's down, Rick. Can you talk
about the work being done to turn those conditions around? Oh? Yeah,
seventy The matchee s tree kangaroos. They are listed as
an endangered species on the International Union for Conservation of
Nature's Red List, and the biggest challenge is based on
things going on in their habitat like mining, logging, and hunting. Now, thankfully,
(06:58):
a lot of work is being done to help minimize
these challenges, including land and water protection and a lot
of educational awareness programs, and of course, zoos have stepped
into help too. In the nineteen nineties, zoos in North
America knew they could make a difference, and they created
a species survival plan for tree kangaroos, a plan that
carefully matches individuals across the zoos to ensure the best
(07:21):
genetic pairing for their mates to help create a very
diverse and safe population. And one of the biggest tree
kangaroo conservation efforts comes from our friends at the Woodland
Park Zoo in Seattle. They are in partnership with the
Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program, working with local communities in rural
Papua New Guinea to protect the endangered Matchees tree kangaroo
in the habitat in which it lives. The program helped
(07:44):
to establish the country's first and only nationally recognized conservation
area and works with communities and governments to address the
local needs including livelihoods, health and education. It really is
a great example of how conservation can really make a
difference when we all together in partnership. Coming up, we'll
be talking to one of our own senior wildlife care
(08:05):
specialists who helps to care for the tree kangaroos at
the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. But first this now
it's time for the San Diego Zoom Minute, an opportunity
for you to learn what's new at the zoo and
Safari Park. In May, the San Diego Zoos Fire Park
(08:27):
opened his Walk About Australia habitat, and with its opening
it became one of the few locations where you can
see Matche's tree kangaroos in person. Since the tree dwelling
kangaroos arrived at the San Diego Zoosa Fire Park, they
have already welcomed a new Joey born right there at
Walk About Australia. This was significant for the San Diego
zou Safari Park, but even more significant for the population
(08:48):
of Matche's tree kangaroos, whose species continues to need all
of the help we can get. And did you know
fun fact jumped to it matchis tree kangaroos can leave
sixty feet to the ground without injury, and even though
tree kangaroos are quiet by nature, they still manage to
get their points across. They communicate via visual display, touch
(09:12):
and some vocalization, and most importantly through chemical cues. With
the small expressive face, a prominent pink nose, and teddy
bear like ears, matches tree kangaroos seem like a cross
(09:32):
between an opossum, a koala, and maybe a bit of
a house cat thrown in While these marsupios have the
kangaroo name, they bear little resemblance to their much bigger cousins.
Now Here to tell us a lot more about the
matches tree kangaroo is Senior walife care Specialist Katie Christofferson.
(09:55):
She's with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Hi Katie, Hi, Hey,
how are you doing great? Thank you? So tell us
about your position as a wildlife care specialists and what
that means for your role with working with animals such
as the tree kangaroos. Yeah. So, as a wildlife care
specialists at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, we're tasked
(10:18):
with the care of the wildlife on our specific team.
From myself, I work on the Australia team and we're
tasked with ensuring their habitats are in tip top shape.
We want to make sure they're eating all of their
a lot of diet, to make sure they are exactly
where we want them to be as far as their
weight and how they're looking and feeling and acting. We're
(10:41):
also in charge of and this is the really exciting
part about my job as we're also in charge of
being a part of their conservation through our breeding programs
that we have through Asia accredited SZUS, So the Matchi's
tree kangaroos have their breeding program. We do have a
breeding pair with us at the park. But we all
so maintain all sorts of behaviors as we use in
(11:04):
our industry, training the animals that we work with in
order to participate in their own veterinary care voluntarily as well.
So there are fourteen species of tree kangaroos and their
native to Australia and Papua New Guinea, Indonesia. How is
this environment recreated at the San Diego Zoos Safari Park. Yeah,
(11:27):
a lot goes into it. A lot of different departments
are involved. So we try and match the species of
plants that are found in their natural environment. We try
and get as close as we can to matching the temperature,
the weather, the humidity, everything that we possibly can for
them to ensure that their body's physiology is being taken
(11:49):
care of as best as we possibly can. We also
want them to feel comfortable in their environment where guests
would be able to see them. So there's lots of
for tree kangaroos, lots of foliage for them, lots of
trees for them, to climb in um in places for
them to hide if they want to get out of
the sun, or if they feel like they want to
take a snooze for a little while. So tree kangaroos
(12:10):
are a very interesting niche that people may not be
as familiar with. Can you talk about any behaviors that
matches tree kangaroos share with their larger ground kangaroo cousins
or any differences. One of the major differences is that
they climb trees. There are boreal They are in the
trees the majority of the time. Occasionally they'll come down
(12:33):
to the ground to feed, and oftentimes during breeding interactions
they will be on the ground as well. Some of
the similarities that they have would be their dentition. Their
digestive tracks are obviously similar, but they also will lick
their forearms and their chests if they're stressed from heat,
if it's too hot, or if they're worried about predators
(12:55):
being around. Instead of sweating so like a dog would pant,
we would swear as people, the kangaroos or macropods in
general would lick their forearms and as that saliva evaporates,
it cools their body off, so the San Diego Zoo
Safari Park has been caring for Matchi's tree kangaroos since
and I understand there's already been since some exciting birth announcements.
(13:20):
Can you talk about that. Yes, our first two tree
kangaroos that we had, Polly and Spike, successfully had a
Joey who was named Luca. Polly and Luca lived together
for the appropriate amount of time that a joey and
mother would be living together. You were able to see
them as a guest out in their habitat, grooming each other,
(13:40):
doing all of the wonderful things that we like to
see tree kangaroos doing. And Polly has since been moved
to another institution for an opportunity to express her valuable
genetics for the tree kangaroo community and has actually been
successful a second time with another Joey that she's currently
caring for. So would the process be considered assisted breeding
(14:03):
or or how is it described? Because I just wanted
to know, like what all goes into the process of
the tree king or is breeding under human care? Yeah,
that's actually a great question. It's quite scientific. Typically, would
collect fecals from our females at least three times a week,
which then gets sent to a reproductive physiologists where they
do fecal hormonal essays and they track her estrogen levels
(14:26):
and give us graphs to give us the opportunity to
match her actual hormonal activity with the behaviors that we're
seeing and recording from our tree kangaroos throughout the week.
So we compare those two bits of information together to
make our best educated guests to putting the tree kangaroos
together when they would be most successful. So they're solitary
(14:48):
by nature, so we have them separated as they would
be more comfortable being. And then when we feel that
those signs have come together and we feel like it's
time to put them together, we would then give them
that opportunity to breed, sometimes one day and sometimes we
leave them together for up to three or four days,
depending on how they're doing with each other. And why
is this necessary? Is this just a precaution or is
(15:11):
this needed to increase the chances of survival for this animal.
So tree kangaroos are listed as endangered on the IUCN
Red List and their population in the wild is declining.
So having this population in the United States that we
can have as a backup to be able to reintroduce
(15:33):
genetics into the wild if we were able to eventually.
Is the basis for keeping the breeding programs active. In
speaking of the wild or nature, one of the things
that has been interesting about having these conversations is learning
about the important roles that these animals often play in
(15:54):
the ecosystem. So what role do the tree kangaroos play
in the ecosystem? Yeah, so tree kangaroos are going to
be fullivores, so they eat a lot of foliage, different
types of flowers, sometimes fruits, which also helps to aid
in pollination. A lot of tree species would really rely
(16:14):
on the consumption of those bits and fruits. So what
are some of the biggest challenges that matchi's tree kangaroo's
face in nature? I would imagine that deforestation is probably
high on the list. Yeah, it's very high on the list.
That creates habitat fragmentation. There's obviously fewer places for them
(16:34):
to reside if their trees are disappearing, development of local
human communities where roads are being built, and even dogs,
feral dogs, wild dogs present a threat to the tree kangaroos.
But another one that's a little bit more challenging to
touch on is the threat that humans directly play in
(16:55):
the role for tree kangaroos being endangered human population increase
and encroachment obviously, but they're also caught for their meat
for bush meat, and their fur is traded and some
ritualistic types of trade as well. Wow, is there anything
being done in an effort to improve the human wildlife
(17:17):
coexistence near the tree kangaroo's natural habitat? Absolutely, the tree
kangaroos being a part of ASA's Safe Program. The program
itself is a framework that protects the threatened species. It
builds on established recovery plans that are already in action
in the United States within those as accredited zoos and
(17:39):
in the environment in which they're found in the wild.
And it prioritizes collaboration between other accredited institutions so that
everybody is on the same page and really putting the
efforts and the funding into protecting that species as a whole. So, Katie,
with this collaboration, what has been decided, what's being done,
What are some of the next steps. It's some of
(18:00):
the next steps would be funding for re establishing some
of the natural environments for the tree kangaroos, education for
local communities to help them understand and cohabitate better with
the tree kangaroos, and working on the fundraising and the
educational outreach in the United States, just by providing people
(18:24):
the opportunity to see these creatures on their vacation, so
to speak, and creating some passion and desire for the
regular public to want to help and donate and be
a part of the process. What's the learning opportunity for
people who have the opportunity to observe a tree kangaro
(18:47):
One of the biggest things we hope that all guests
can take away at the Safari Park with our tree
kangaroo habitat is the inspiration and the knowledge that there
are species that maybe people didn't know about before, and
they can become a little bit more aware that there
are more species out there than we even realize that
(19:09):
need protection, They need people to care about them, and
most certainly, they need people to want to preserve the
environments in which they reside. What would you say is
the best part of going to work every day at
the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. One of my favorite
things about my job and coming into work every day
(19:32):
is I get the opportunity to not only develop a
relationship with specific individuals as far as the tree kangaroos
or the other species that we work with, but developing
a relationship with a species, especially an endangered species, as
a whole is really incredible and you learn how they
fit into the environment perfectly, and you learn how they
(19:55):
are a valued part of their environment as well. Thank
you so much for talking with us. We've been talking
to Katie Christofferson, eight, senior wildlife care specialist working with
mammals at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Thank you,
thanks for listening. We hope you enjoyed learning about the
matches tree kangaroo. Be sure to subscribe and tune into
(20:19):
next week's episode, in which we bring to the story
of a bird species that many call a living dinosaur.
I'm Ebony Money and I'm Rich Schwartz. Thanks for listening.
If you would like to find out more about San
Diego Zoo Wild Left Alliance, please visit sdz W a
dot org. Amazing Wildlife is a production of I Heart Radio.
(20:42):
Our producer is Nikkia Swinton and our executive producer is
Marcy to Peanut. Our audio engineer and editor is Sierra Spreen.
For more shows from My Heart Radio, check out the
I heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen
to your favorite shows.
Hosts And Creators
Rick Schwartz
Marco Wendt
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