The last known siting of this unique tree kangaroo was in 1928. It was presumed that the species was extinct. The animal is so rare and elusive that it’s near 90 year disappearance was accepted because it supported the belief that it was gone forever. The Wondiwoi was first spotted in 1928 by a legendary evolutionary biologist on the Wondiwoi Peninsula in West Papua on the island of New Guinea. The biologist shot it and sent its pelt to the National History Museum—really?!?—that might have earned him the Darwin Award. The monkey-like kangaroo clambers through the trees of the near impenetrable bamboo montane forests of New Guinea.
Tree kangaroos are tropical marsupials that are close relatives of ground dwelling kangaroos and wallabies. The Wondiwoi has strong forearms and moves through the trees with an odd mix of climbing and hopping. The expedition’s story is the subject of a September 2018 National Geographic article by John Pickrell. This is a real life Teddy Bear in the rain forest, “it’s a hybrid of a kangaroo, a koala, a sloth, a monkey and a bear.” Let’s hope the bamboo “wall” that has protected them for the past 90 years keeps the hunters, miners, loggers and climate change from destroying their critical habitat.
Speaking of walls, I have to comment on the President’s plan to post a human wall across our southern border to “protect” us from the invasion from Central America. The march seems to me to be people at risk in their own country hoping to provide a better future for themselves and their children in our country. That said it was frighteningly laughable when one supporter suggested these people are bringing “small pox” and a variety of other afflictions. “Small pox is the only virus that has been completely eradicated from nature.” I am hoping one day soon we all get the facts on which to build an informed opinion and our leaders stop appealing to hate and fear to generate support. This country was built by immigrants and that diversity has served us well. I do not have a solution for the divisive immigration issue but believe armed troops will not bring the nation together or solve the underlying problem. I hope you will all take time to cast an informed vote in the upcoming elections.
Sir Isaac Newton saw the world through the eyes of a scientist. Newton was a mathematician, astronomer, theologian, author and physicist and is widely recognized as one of the most influential scientists of all time. Wisdom from Newton that applies today: “I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people.” Humility is important and Newton said, “if I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” Finally, “we build too many walls and not enough bridges.” Cory Booker said it better than I could “Patriotism is love of country. But you can’t love your country without loving your countrymen and countrywomen…..”.
Don’t leave our future to chance- Vote. Mike