The Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program (TKCP) has been collaborating with communities on Papua New Guinea’s Huon Peninsula since 1996, working to foster wildlife and habitat protection. The program’s flagship species is the endangered Matschie’s tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus matschiei), which is important to local communities both culturally and as a source of protein. In order to protect the survival of the Matschie’s tree kangaroo and to encourage sustainable resource management, TKCP assisted indigenous landowners and the government of Papua New Guinea to establish the country’s first nationally-protected conservation area, the 187,000-acre Yopno-Uruwa-Som Conservation Area (YUS CA). TKCP continues to work with communities and partners to develop plans for the long-term management of the YUS CA to ensure the effective protection of its immense biodiversity and habitat.
With support from CREOi, TKCP conducted research in the rugged Sobot Daron research site to further understand the ecology, habitat use, and home range size of the Matschie’s tree kangaroo. TKCP’s indigenous YUS Conservation Area Rangers and field workers were trained in tracking techniques and minimally invasive tree kangaroo capture methods. Three Matschie’s tree kangaroos were equipped with radio tracking collars, and their locations were tracked and recorded daily for six months and then monthly for 9 months. The data analyzed from the home range research will be used to determine home range of tree kangaroos at lower elevations, and then compared to previous data at higher elevations. This information will be used to inform landowners and the YUS Conservation Area Management Committee (CAMC) on the appropriate area size that individual wild tree kangaroos require in lower and higher elevations. Action plans based on this information will eventually result in the adjustment of the core conservation area boundaries to effectively meet the needs of the Matschie’s tree kangaroo.
In addition, two Matschie’s tree kangaroos were collared with National Geopgraphic Society CritterCams for four days, after which they were re-captured and the collars removed. Video documentation of feeding behavior while the tree kangaroos are in the canopy allowed for identification of food plants otherwise not previously observed. TKCP is collaborating with Papua New Guinea Forest Research Institute (PNGFRI) staff of the Papua New Guinea National Herbarium in Lae, PNG to identify the plants observed in the tree kangaroo diet. Upon reviewing the CritterCam data, it is noted that tree kangaroos tend to feed on several different food plants.
CritterCam video data also led to greater knowledge regarding the time of the day at which tree kangaroos are active (daily time budget), diet composition and feeding ecology, and other behaviors. This information will be shared with all stakeholders through the YUS Conservation Area Management Committee, which will use this information to effectively manage and conserve this unique species in the wild.
($5,000)