andintothelaundrywherea
treeroo,recentlyhitbya car,
sitslappingata bowlofwater.
Turningitsdarkfacetowards
thedoorasweenter,itlooks
atusexpectantly,butit’sclear
fromitsmistyeyesthatthis
oneisalsoblind.
“Becauseofthehotterand
drierweatherwe’rehaving,the
rainforestisstressedandsoare
thetreekangaroos,”Karenex-
plains.“Moreandmorewe’re
gettingtreekangarooscoming
inwithcentralblindnessand
opticnervedamage,whichmay
becausedbyincreasedtoxins
intherainforestleavesduetoa
lackofwater.”
It’sjusta theoryatthisstage,but
Karenisworkingcloselywithpathol-
ogistsatCharlesSturtUniversityto
documentandstudytheeyedamage
fromeyetissuesamplestakenfrom
deceasedtreekangaroos, andis
hopefuloffindinganswers.
ShealsoworkscloselywithDream-
worldWildlifeFoundation’swildlife
supervisor,AlanaLegge, tohelp
rehometreeroosoncetheyhave
beenrehabilitated,butareunableto
returntothewild,oftenbecauseof
permanentblindness.
Dreamworld,ontheGoldCoast,is
oneofthefewzooenvironmentsin
Australiawherevisitorscanobserve
Lumholtz’streekangaroos,andthe
onlyoneintheworldthatoffersan
interactiveexperience with one of
theirfourresidenttreeroos.
“They’re very intelligent and
quitecheekyanimalssoit’sniceto
sharethatwithourguestsandedu-
catepeopleaboutthespecies,”says
Alana,whoisinvolvedintheirdaily
careandtraining.“Guestsgetto
givethemascratchorfeedthem
theplantsandf lowersthatthey
love,alongwithsometreatssuchas
chickpeas.”
Yetdespitetheattemptsatpublic
education,Alanasaysthatnota day
goesbywithoutvisitorsscratching
theirheadsinpuzzlementatthe
sightofthetreekangaroos– listed
asnear-threatenedbytheNature
ConservationAct.“We’vehadthem
forfiveyearsatDreamworldandwe
still hear the same question everyA treekangaroorecoveringintheoutdoor
enclosure on Karen’s property28 April 2020
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