roomfortheirfirstbottlesofspecial
macropodformulafortheday,while
shesipsona steamingcupoftea.
“Whenthey’reveryyoung,I do
three-orfour-hourlyfeedsthrough-
outthenight,”Karenexplains.“IfI do
occasionallyhavea coupleofnights
offandsomeoneelseiscaringfor
them,I’mworriedaboutthemand
can’tsleep.I needtohavea treekan-
garootocuddleupto...nooffenceto
myhusband,”shelaughs.
Karen,aveterinarynurse,and
husbandNeil,a carpenter,movedto
Malanda 20 yearsagoandbuilttheir
homeonasprawling65-hectare
property,muchofitlushrainforest
teemingwithcassowaries,possums,
pademelonsand,ofcourse,treekan-
garoos.
ShortlyaftersettlingintheMalan-
daarea,located 90 minutessouth-
westofCairns,a localwildlifecarer
introducedthemtothenativespecies
oftreekangaroos,knownasthe
Lumholtz’streekangaroo.Asecond
species,theBennett’streekangaroo,
livesfurthernorthstillintheidyllic
DaintreeRainforest.
For Karen, it was love at first sightAsecondjoeysnugglesunderthe
covers,whileyetanothersleeps
soundlyontopofher,encouraging
Karentolieinbeda littlelonger.A
fourthjoey,anearlyriser,hashopped
offthebedandisexploringthebed-
room.
“PeoplewillthinkI’mnutsbut
yesI wakeuptofourtreekangaroos
eachday,oftentryingtocleanmy
armsandfaceandtalktome,”Karen
chuckles.“Theylovehumanwarmth
andinteractionwhenthey’relittle
andtheythrivebetterbysleeping
inbedwithmebecausenormally
they’dbeinapouch 24 hoursper
dayandhavetheconstantheartbeat
andwarmthoftheirmothers,”she
explains.
Whilemany peoplehavenev-
erevenheardoftreekangaroos,a
uniqueAustralianmarsupialfound
onlyinsmallpocketsofrainforestin
NorthQueensland,Karenhasdedi-
catedherlifetorescuingandreha-
bilitatingsick,orphanedandinjured
tree‘roos’.
Aftersheplayfullywrestlesthe
joeysoutofherbed,Karentakesthe
youngerbabiesout to the loungeREADER’SDIGESTK
arenCoombesrollsoversleepilyinthebed
ofherMalandahomeinNorthQueensland
andopenshereyes.Sunstreamsintothe
roomandsheseesa treekangaroojoey
perchedonthebednexttoher,munchinghungrily
on a branch of leaves while staring intently at her.26 April 2020