Conservation Spotlight

Tree Kangaroo Conservation in Papua New Guinea

William Betz
Southampton University, United Kingdom;  c/o Conservation and Research Department, Roger Williams Park Zoo, 1000 Elmwood Ave., Providence, RI 02907.

The Tree Kangaroo Conservation Project in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is part of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association's (AZA) Tree Kangaroo Species Survival Plan (TK-SSP).  The primary goal of the project is to determine the wild status of tree kangaroos (Dendrolagus spp.) through research efforts of the project's own scientists and by training, encouraging and collaborating with other researchers and students in PNG.  Additional goals of this long-term project are to increase knowledge about the natural history of tree kangaroos, to develop conservation education programs, to record traditional stories/beliefs about tree kangaroos, and to encourage conservation awareness among landowners.  Two methods are being used to collect information about tree kangaroo populations.  The first involves censusing at field sites using Distance Sampling, which should help determine what levels of population given areas can support.  The second includes interviews with landowners.  By providing landowners with necessary population census information about tree kangaroos, they can make informed decisions about creating Wildlife Management Areas.