ONE STRANGE ROO

Look up! This kangaroo’s treetop lifestyle will surprise you.

BY JASON BITTEL

A MATSCHIE’S TREE KANGAROO hugs the side of a tree trunk. Suddenly, the fur ball pushes off the trunk with its powerful legs and bounds three feet up the tree. The roo hops until it reaches the branchy canopy a hundred feet high. You might think of kangaroos bouncing along the ground. But tree kangaroos spend most of their lives up in the trees, foraging for leaves, raising their young, and looking for snoozing spots. Read on to discover how the Matschie’s tree kangaroo’s arboreal lifestyle is way up there compared to the life of a red kangaroo. Sized Up RED ROO REALITY: Red kangaroos can be over five feet tall and weigh 200 pounds—as much as an adult human. MATSCHIE’S WEIRD WORLD: A heavy animal is bad news for a tree branch. So Matschie’s tree…

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National Geographic Kids (Digital) - 1 Issue, December 2024/January 2025

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