A presumed ‘extinct’ kangaroo reappears in nature

The Wondiwoi tree kangaroo is one of the 17 species of tree kangaroos who, for 90 years, had been considered extinct, until now. The last known sighting of it was in New Guinea in 1928. Just recently, an amateur botanist named Michael Smith, from Farnham, England photographed the mammal in the remote Wondiwoi Mountains of West Papua, Indonesia.

These “tree dwelling” creatures look like medium-sized kangaroos and are tropical marsupials. They pull themselves up the trees using their forearms.

Mark Eldridge, a marsupial biologist at the Australian Museum in Sydney said: “Knowing it still exists provides a great opportunity to gather more information, since we know virtually nothing about it, as well as to ensure its survival.”