THE TREE KANGAROO. 



373 



adapts them admirably for leaping, an exercise in which the Kangaroos, as these creatures are 

 familiarly termed, are pre-eminently excellent. 



FIRST on the list appears the singular animal which is well represented in the engraving, 

 and which, on account of its peculiar habit, is known by the name of the TREE KANGAROO. 

 In general form, this animal is sufficiently Kangaroo-like to be enrolled at once among the 

 members of that group of Macropods, but the comparative shortness of the hinder feet and the 

 length of the fore-feet, together with some peculiarity in the dentition, have induced the latei 

 zoologists to place it in a separate genus from the true Kangaroo. 



The fur of the Tree Kangaroo is so remarkably dark that its deep tinting serves as an 

 infallible mark of distinction, by means of which it may be recognized even at some distance. 

 It is on account of the dark, glossy 

 blackness of the fur, that the creature 

 is called ursinus, or bear-like, as the 

 hairs of its fur are thought to bear some 

 resemblance to those which form the 

 coat of the American black bear. 



The coloring of its fur is generally 

 as follows : the whole of the back and 

 the upper parts of the body are a deep, 

 glossy black, the hairs being rather 

 coarser, and running to some length. 

 These hairs are only of one kind, for in 

 the fur of the Tree Kangaroo there is 

 none of that inner coat of fine, close, 

 woolly hair which is found in the other 

 Kangaroos, and which lies next to the 

 skin. The whole of the fur is, therefore, 

 composed solely of the long and stiff 

 hairs that are usually found to penetrate 

 through the interior covering of woolly 

 fur, and to lie upon its surface. The 

 under parts of the body are of a yel- 

 lowish hue, and the breast is washed 

 with a richer and deeper tint of chestnut. 

 The tail is of the same color as the body, 

 and is of very great length, probably to 

 aid the animal in balancing itself as it 

 climbs among the branches of the trees 

 on which it loves to disport itself. 



To see a Kangaroo on a tree is really 

 a most remarkable sight, and one which TREE 



might well have been deemed a mere 



invention had it not often been attested by credible witnesses. I have repeatedly seen one 

 of these creatures clambering about a tree-trunk with perfect ease, and ascending or 

 descending with the security of a squirrel. The animal looks so entirely in its wrong 

 place, that when the black-haired, long-legged creature hops unexpectedly upon a tree 

 and hooks itself among the branches, with its long black tail dangling below it, the entire 

 aspect of the animal is absolutely startling, and suggestive of the super or, perhaps, the 

 infer natural to the mind of the spectator. This species is not, however, the only one that 

 can ascend trees, an art which is practised with some success by the Rock Kangaroo. 



The food of this species consists of vegetable substances, such as the young bark, twigs, 

 berries, and leaves of the trees upon which it lives, but very little is known of its habits in a 

 wild state. It is an inhabitant of A T ew Guinea. 



