Scott's tree kangaroo
Dendrolagus scottae · Tenkile · Torricelli Mountains, Papua New Guinea
in the wild
Once down to perhaps 100, this cloud-forest tree kangaroo is now recovering to around 300 thanks to villages that agreed to stop hunting it.
Illustrative depictionOverview
A kangaroo that took to the trees
The Tenkile is a tree kangaroo found only in Papua New Guinea's Torricelli Mountains, between 900 and 1,700 metres. It descends from ground-dwelling marsupials that evolved to live in the treetops of the cloud forest. It weighs up to 11 kg and can hop as well as walk on two legs.
A herbivore, it feeds on epiphytic ferns, leaves and vines, and is thought to be the most intelligent of all tree kangaroos. Long known to local people but little known to science until recently, females carry their joey in the pouch for up to a year.
Hunting and forest loss cut numbers sharply over the past 50 years, to perhaps 100 by 1998. Since the Tenkile Conservation Alliance began in 2001 and 50 villages agreed to stop hunting it, the population has started to recover — the Conservation Planning Specialist Group now estimates around 300.
Why it is nearly gone
Hunted, then protected
Hunting drove its decline; now forest clearance and new roads are the growing risks.
Hunting
Long hunted for food by local people, which drove decades of steep decline before villages agreed to stop.
Forest clearance for farming
Converting cloud forest to agricultural land removes the trees it feeds and lives in.
Road construction
New roads cut through its range, opening forest to clearance and access for hunters.
A tiny range
Found only in one mountain range, so local losses affect the whole species.
Conservation history
Brought back by local villages
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| Past 50 years | Numbers fall sharply through hunting for food and forest clearance |
| 1998 | Population thought to be as low as 100 (CPSG) |
| 2001 | Tenkile Conservation Alliance founded; 50 local villages agree to stop hunting |
| Sept 2015 | IUCN assessment estimates around 200 |
| Today | CPSG estimates around 300 and recovering |
Take action
Who's fighting for the Tenkile
These organisations support research, habitat protection, community-based conservation and awareness. Visit their work or give to them directly.
Everyday actions
What you can do from home
- 01
Sponsor a Tenkile
Sponsorship through the Tenkile Conservation Alliance supports the villages protecting it.
- 02
Support community conservation
Give to groups that help local communities earn a living without hunting or clearing forest.
- 03
Watch and share the documentary
Into the Jungle tells the Tenkile's story — share it to spread the word.
- 04
Choose deforestation-free products
Look for responsibly sourced timber, palm oil and other forest products.
Selected references
- IUCN Red List — Dendrolagus scottae (last assessed September 2015)
- Conservation Planning Specialist Group — Scott's tree kangaroo success story
- Future For Nature — Twenty years of Tenkile conservation
- Tenkile documentary: Into the Jungle
- Schwartz, K.R., Byers, O., Miller, P., Blessington, J. and Smith, B., 2021. The role of zoos in tree kangaroo conservation: Connecting ex situ and in situ conservation action. In Tree Kangaroos (pp. 329–361). Academic Press.
- Mongabay, July 2021 — Road construction imperils tree kangaroo recovery in PNG