Musky Rat-Kangaroo

“The Musky Rat-Kangaroo is so small, so ancient, and so perfectly at home in the rainforest floor that finding one feels less like a wildlife sighting and more like a visit from deep time.”

Musky Rat-Kangaroo: The Smallest and Most Ancient Kangaroo

The musky rat-kangaroo is extraordinary in ways that take a moment to absorb. It is the world’s smallest kangaroo.  About the size of a small rabbit, weighing around 500 grams. It is the sole survivor of the most primitive kangaroo lineage, a living link to the ancestral forms from which all of Australia’s macropods descended. Finding one on the rainforest floor of the Atherton Tablelands feels, genuinely, like a glimpse across millions of years.

Waterfall CircuitA short loop linking Millaa Millaa, Zillie and Ellinjaa Falls.Itinerary IdeasPlan one, two or three days on the Tablelands.Things to DoWaterfalls, crater lakes, wildlife, markets and heritage towns in one guide.

Unlike most kangaroos, the Musky Rat-Kangaroo is diurnal,  active during the day, which makes it far more likely to be seen than many of the Tablelands’ nocturnal wildlife. It moves with a bouncing, scurrying gait quite different from its larger relatives, foraging through the leaf litter of the rainforest floor for fruits, seeds, invertebrates, and fungi. Its range is restricted to the tropical rainforests of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, and the Atherton Tablelands is at the heart of that range.

The best places to look for Musky Rat-Kangaroos are along rainforest walking tracks in the early morning and late afternoon, particularly in areas with dense leaf litter and abundant fallen fruit. The walking tracks around Lake Eacham, Lake Barrine, and the Curtain Figtree are all good places to look, though a genuine sighting always feels like a privilege, because these animals are small, quick, and very much on their own schedule.

Explore the Best of the Atherton Tablelands

Atherton Tablelands LakesLake Eacham, Lake Barrine, Lake Euramoo, Lake Tinaroo and Mt Hypipamee Crater.Atherton Tablelands ToursDay tours and things to do across the Atherton Tablelands.Atherton Tablelands WaterfallsFifteen falls, from the Millaa Millaa circuit to Millstream and Barron Falls.

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