Swamp Stomp

Volume 18 Issue 40

Reading about critically endangered species these days, we are often met with disappointing news. Increasing amounts of overhunting, pollution, and other forms of habitat destruction harm numerous species and cause damage to the environment every day. Fortunately, however, there is good news. One species that was considered to be extinct has been sited by scientists for the first time since 1928.

Dendrolagus mayri, better known as the Wondiwoi tree kangaroo, was considered extinct by many until amateur botanist Michael Smith of Farnham, England emerged from the jungles of New Guinea with pictures that told a different story. Ascending to 1,500 to 1,700 meters through dense bamboo thicket, Smith and his party of four Papuan porters, a local hunter, and Norman Terok, who studies at the University of Papua in Manokwari, saw the first Wondiwoi tree kangaroo in ninety years. Smith was able to capture a few pictures of the marsupial, some of the only pictures known to exist of the animal.

Long before Smith was born, Ernst Mayr, one of the most important evolutionary biologists of the 20th century, was the first person to spot the Wondiwoi tree kangaroo. However, that same day he also became the first person on record to shoot a Wondiwoi tree kangaroo, as was normal in 1928 in order to study the species. It was given the Latin designation Dendrolagus mayri in 1933 and has rarely been seen or even described since. Mark Eldridge, a marsupial biologist at the Australian Museum in Sydney, describes the Wondiwoi tree kangaroo as, “one of the most poorly known mammals in the world.” The only true evidence of its existence, before Smith took his camera to New Guinea, was the pelt of Mayr’s tree kangaroo that currently lies in London’s Natural History Museum.

There is little to no debate over whether or not what Smith saw was actually a Wondiwoi tree kangaroo. Tim Flannery, author of Tree Kangaroos: A Curious Natural History, notes that “The images are clear and reveal the distinctive coat color.” Smith had also described the scratch marks distinctive of tree kangaroos on many of the trees nearby as well as the characteristic smell of their dung. Flannery also points out that the habitat where Smith took his pictures would not suit the habitat of other related tree kangaroo species. To Flannery, this suggests that the Wondiwoi tree kangaroo is “amazingly common in a very small area,” of about 40 to 80 square miles.

For the Wondiwoi tree kangaroos, Smith’s pictures are more than just an interesting discovery: his find could result in a breakthrough in the conservation of all species of tree kangaroos. Roger Martin of James Cook University in Queensland, Australia says, “ It makes the point that if we provide habitat and otherwise leave them alone, then they will get on just fine.” Martin refers to the fact that Wondiwoi tree kangaroos live higher up in the bamboo thickets than hunters tend to hunt. The need for conservation of these animals is more important than ever, as a gold mine has been proposed to be built in the Wondiwoi Mountains which could potentially further threaten multiple species of tree kangaroos. Smith also remarks, “All this just shows that you can find interesting things if you simply go and look.” For all we know, the most extinct species may just be waiting to be discovered.

Source:

Pickrell, John. “Rare Tree Kangaroo Reappears After Vanishing for 90 Years.” National Geographic. National Geographic. September 25, 2018. Web. September 30, 2018.