Animals, Gardens and Attractions
Miami-Dade County Zoological Park and Gardens – Zoo Miami – is proud to present a new monthly feature highlighting the many wonderful animals and plants found throughout our park. With over 2,000 animals and more than 1,200 plants visible from our walkways, it may not be possible for the casual, or even the regular visitor, to see, admire and learn about them in depth. With this series, we hope to provide you with fun facts regarding our animals’ behaviors, habitats, diets, enrichment, and other interesting tidbits. Photos of the featured animal will enable you to see them in greater detail.
http://www.miamimetrozoo.com/animals-and-attractions.asp?Id=41&rootId=2
Our articles on Zoo Miami’s numerous plants, flowers and trees will also provide you with information as to their season, location throughout the zoo and offer tips on how to grow them at home – if feasible – to maintain them healthy, lush and looking beautiful year-round.
Matschie’s Tree Kangaroo – Beautiful, Endangered…and Talented
By Susana Cortázar
Native to Papua, New Guinea, Matschie’s tree kangaroos, also known as the Huon tree kangaroo, are one of the cutest animals at Zoo Miami. They are housed in the zoo’s Australia exhibit, which also showcases koalas, New Guinea singing dogs, and a crocodile monitor lizard.
Their coloring is quite striking – gold and rust bodies, yellow and white faces, and a dark stripe down the back. Their hair is all fluffy and they look like a plush you’d buy at a toy store. They have very small ears, which accounts for their poor sense of hearing. Their curved claws and soft pads on their limbs “are adaptations that enhance their climbing ability,” says Zoo Miami General Curator Steve Conners. Because of the structure of their fore limbs, they possess a degree of independent movement of their digits. They can walk bi-pedally, are better vertical climbers, and have strong tails, which they use for balance, that are almost as long as their body.
http://www.miamimetrozoo.com/animals-and-attractions.asp?Id=682&parentId=41&rootId=2
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