Thylogale stigmatica
The red-legged pademelon is a small kangaroo found in Tropical rainforests. It is usually solitary and secretive, but can be quite inquisitive here at Crater Lakes Rainforest Cottages.
The pademelon eats leaves, fruit and grass. You can see small groups grazing on the lawns at the cottages or the office late in the afternoon, and in the morning they may visit the cottages.
If the pademelon sense danger, they thump their hind feet on the ground as a warning. During the day you may see them dozing in the shade, leaning up with their back against a tree with their tail pulled forward between their legs, and their head nodding down.
The female pademelons seem to be very attentive mothers. Often you will see them with a joey at their side and a newborn moving around in the pouch. There also may be an embryo in a state of suspended animation waiting to be born! (this amazing reproductive strategy is called embryonic diapause). The mother has four teats, but produces only one baby at a time. The baby will attach itself to a teat and remain loyal to that teat. Even when a joey leaves the pouch and is nearly independent, it will stick its head in the pouch and suckle from it’s own teat. Thus, the mother is able to produce two different types of milk to suit each of her offspring.
