This tree kangaroo lives only in a very small part of Papua New Guinea’s Torricelli Mountains, in cool, mossy highland forest where clouds and mist often cling to the canopy. What makes it especially remarkable is how limited its world is: it’s confined to a narrow band of mountain forest, and its total natural habitat is small enough that you could fit it into a single modest region on a map. In other words, it’s a forest specialist with a tiny address, which becomes a serious problem when forests are disturbed or under hunting pressure.

Up close, the tenkile doesn’t look like a typical “cute wallaby.” It’s often described as mostly dark—deep brown to nearly black—with richer chocolate tones on the limbs and tail, and it has a noticeably long snout that gives it a distinctive profile. Its body is built for climbing rather than sprinting across open ground. Like other tree-kangaroos, it has strong forelimbs and sturdy claws that help it grip trunks and branches, and it moves in a careful, deliberate way that suits life high above the forest floor. One quirky detail people mention is that it can raise its forearms high above its head, which sounds funny until you picture it stretching for leaves.

Its day-to-day life is mostly about quiet browsing and staying hidden. The tenkile eats mainly plant foods, especially leaves and other forest vegetation, and it spends long periods resting and feeding in the forest where it can stay out of trouble. Tree-kangaroos don’t rush through the canopy the way monkeys do; they tend to move with slow confidence, testing footing and shifting weight carefully before committing to the next branch or trunk. They can come down to the ground at times, but the trees are their safest travel routes and hiding places.

Distribution

Country

Population est.

Status

Year

Comments

Papua New Guinea

200

Official estimate

CR

2015