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The tree kangaroo is a large, heavy-bodied marsupial with powerful limbs, a long cylindrical tail equal to length of its head and body, and short rounded ears. It has short soft fur, gray on the back, and lighter on the belly, with a black snout, toes, and tail tip. Its average head and body length is 26", and maximum weight is about 23 lbs.



The Goodfellow’s Tree-Kangaroo is mostly brown in colour with golden yellow limbs, a long mottled golden yellow and brown non-prehensile tail and two golden yellow dorsal stripes. It is only found in the central Cordillera.

Goodfellow’s Tree-Kangaroos are primarily browsing herbivores, but can be considered omnivores, occasionally consuming small birds and eggs. The three subspecies of Goodfellow’s Tree-kangaroos are all considered endangered.

In New Guinea there have been widespread declines of most species of tree kangaroos mainly due to habitat loss and over harvesting for food (bush meat).




It is understood that tree-kangaroos evolved from creatures similar to modern kangaroos and wallabies, as they retain many standard macropod adaptations to life in the plains—notably the massive hind legs and long, narrow feet which allow orthodox macropods to travel fast and economically on the ground. Tree-kangaroos have developed exceptionally long tails for balance, and stronger forelimbs for climbing. The feet are shorter and wider, they have longer claws on all feet, and rubbery soles for better grip.

The ancestors of all kangaroos are believed to have been small arboreal marsupials that looked like some of Australia's present-day possums. The earliest macropods diverged from this line when they descended to the ground and evolved bodies adapted for rapid motion over the earth and rocks. Why the ancestors of the tree-kangaroos returned to the trees is not known.