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Pademelon Facts

Pademelon Facts
Pademelon is small marsupial and close relative of wallaby and kangaroo. It belongs to the kangaroo family (macropod). There are 7 species of pademelon that can be found in Australia, Papua New Guinea and Tasmania. Pademelon inhabits wet sclerophyll forests and rainforests in the coastal areas. Major threats for the survival of these animals are habitat loss (due to accelerated deforestation), hunting (because of their fur and meat), introduction of various predators and lack of food. Mountain and Calaby's pademelon are already on the list of endangered species.
Interesting Pademelon Facts:
Pademelon can reach 16.5 to 20.5 inches in length and 7.7 to 26 pounds of weight. Males are much larger than females.
Pademelon is covered with soft fur that is dark brown to grey-brown on the back and reddish-brown or creamy-colored on the belly.
Pademelon has pointed nose, round, dark-colored eyes, prominent, erect ears, stocky body, short legs and short, thick tail.
Pademelon spends its life in dense undergrowth of forest. It creates tunnels in the tall grass and bushes that are used to facilitate access to the feeding areas and as the escape routes. Most macropods use their tail as a third leg. Due to small size of a tail of pademelon, it is not used as additional limb (pademelon drags it across the ground while it moves through the forest).
Pademelon is very shy creature that is rarely seen in the wild because it rarely leaves the safety of the forest. It cannot be seen more than 328 feet away from the forest edge.
Pademelon rests during the day and searches food during the night (nocturnal animal).
Pademelon is a herbivore. Its diet is based on the leaves, grass, shoots, herbs, mosses, ferns and berries.
Pademelon is solitary and territorial creature. Males occupy territory of 5 to 30 hectares.
Pademelon thumps the ground with its hind legs when it detects predators. This habit is useful for the forest animals because it informs them about the upcoming danger. Vibrations of the soil are very strong and they can easily trick large snakes that some very large, and potentially dangerous animal is the one that creates them.
Natural enemies of pademelons are dogs, dingoes, Tasmanian devils, foxes, pythons and eagles.
Pademelon has been important part of diet of (now extinct) Tasmanian tiger.
Mating season of pademelons takes place all year round and reaches the peak during the spring and autumn.
Pregnancy in female lasts 30 days and ends with one, poorly develop baby called joey. Baby completes its embryonic development inside the mother's pouch and spends first 6 months inside it. Young pademelon is weaned at the age of 7 to 8 months.
Pademelon reaches maturity at the age of 14 to 18 months.
Pademelon can survive 4 to 8 years in the wild.


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