The Australian Reptile Park celebrated an exciting day today as it marks Kimbe the goodfellow tree kangaroo’s 17th birthday! Kimbe is believed to be the eldest tree kangaroo living in Australia and arrived at the park in April 2019 and has been a beloved resident of the park ever since. Kimbe is adored by all the visitors of the Reptile Park, especially those who participate in an up-close animal encounter where they get to feed the friendly tree-dwelling marsupial.
To celebrate the special occasion, keepers showered Kimbe in love and hand delivered a carefully constructed avocado on “toast” which was made from pumkpin. Keepers will often hand Kimbe avocado as a special treat every now and then, sometimes deliberately putting it at the bottom of her meal. Without a doubt, Kimbe will dig to the bottom and find the avocado immediately each time.
In captivity, it is estimated for Goodfellow tree kangaroos to live up to 14 years old, so the Australian Reptile Park is delighted to see Kimbe celebrating another birthday and showing no signs of slowing down any time soon! Staff are hoping that celebrating Kimbe’s birthday will raise awareness about the Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo by introducing visitors to the rare species whilst educating people about the serious threat of deforestation.
Australian Reptile Park Director Tim Faulkner said, “We’re so excited to see Kimbe is thriving here at the park and was happily celebrating her 17th birthday. Sadly, Goodfellow’s tree kangaroos are endangered and need all the help they can get. By making the effort to celebrate special moments with both Kimbe, we are able to educate our visitors into doing what they can to help save the species.”
Tim Faulkner continued, “I personally love Goodfellow’s tree-kangaroos and spent a lot of my time when I was in Papua New Guinea trying to see a wild one – and I couldn’t! They’re quite rare to see out and about! This makes it even more special to have Kimbe here at the Australian Reptile Park”
There are 12 species of tree-kangaroo in the world with many of the species under threat due to due to hunting and habitat destruction. Goodfellow’s tree-kangaroos are classified as endangered and are native to the rainforests of Papua New Guinea, and the border of central Irian Jaya in Indonesia.
Visitors can meet Kimbe the Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo during an encounter in which they get to feed and pat the beautiful animal. Tree kangaroo encounters occur at 11:00am daily. For more information visitors can book an encounter at: https://reptilepark.com.au/experiences/animal-encounters/
