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Pademelons: Pint-sized Kangaroos of the Rainforest
It’s hard to be a gardener in Australia’s Wet Tropics!
Atherton Tablelands, Far North Queensland, Australia
There are fences in my garden. They surround the beds where white spider lilies and orange-flowered heliconias grow. These fences are supposed to keep pademelons from chewing on the foliage. But some are too low — cleared in a well-judged hop. Others are too loose — easy to squeeze under. If there’s food on the other side, the pademelons will always find a way through.
Pademelons are pint-sized forest kangaroos. Seven species live in forests of eastern Australia and New Guinea. The ones in my garden are red-legged pademelons (Thylogale stigmatica), named for the orange fur at the top of their hind legs. Adult males are about 50 centimetres in height; females are much smaller. They are usually solitary, but in the evenings and on heavily overcast days, they feed together on lawns and at the grassy edges of forest roads.
They are not fussy eaters: leaves, fruit, flowers — they adore hibiscus — all disappear when paddies are around. If it’s in reach of their tiny paws, they will nibble on it.
