Tree-kangaroos of the genus Dendrolagus are unique and fascinating animals in that they’re the only macropods adapted for an arboreal lifestyle. Indeed, while they move about awkwardly on land, they are quite agile in the trees. They possess a number of adaptations for living this lifestyle including broad hindfeet, long claws, dexterous hands, patches of rough skin on the hands and feet for gripping, and tails that are proportionally longer than those of their terrestrial counterparts, which allows for greater balance. Tree-kangaroos are found in the forests of New Guinea and Northeastern Queensland in Australia, as well as small neighboring islands. Today we’re looking at a figure of the Matschie’s tree kangaroo by Safari Ltd.
The Matschie’s tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus matschiei) is named after the German biologist Paul Matschie and is found in the mountainous rainforests on the Huon Peninsula of New Guinea. Due to habitat loss, it is listed as endangered. This figure from Safari was released in 2020 and was one of the most noteworthy figures of that year. It’s the only figure of the species available and tree-kangaroo figures are rare in general. Unfortunately, its production was short lived as it was retired in 2023.
Matschie’s tree-kangaroo has a head-body length of 20-32” (51–81 cm) and can weigh about 15-25 lbs. (7-11 kg.) with males being larger than females. This figure has a pouch so that would make it a female. Safari’s figure is presented resting upright on its haunches and long tail. It has a head-body length of about 3” (7.62 cm) which would put it at about 1/6 in scale.
The fine details are excellent on this little toy and include nicely layered fur texturing, particularly on the chest, and a whorl of hair running down the back. This whorl of fur is found in all tree-kangaroos. The hair here swirls in various directions and allows rainwater to be shed from the back while the animal is curled up. The five digits of the hands and three digits of the feet are sculpted with prominent claws and padding on their inside surface.
The figure is painted brown dorsally with black running down the midline of the back and lighter brown along the sides. The chest, lower portions of the limbs, face, and ear edges are painted white and gold, and the tail is entirely golden-yellow. The snout and inside surface of the hands and feet are pink. The eyes are black with a shiny finish. This is a finely executed paintjob that accurately conveys the complex colors of the Matschie’s tree-kangaroo on a diminutive toy.
The Safari Matschie’s tree-kangaroo is one of my favorite figures from Safari and is the kind of figure that got me into this hobby to begin with. It’s a nicely executed little model of an obscure animal that most people have never heard of. I absolutely love it. It’s sad that the figure only had three short years of production and I imagine that it will be highly sought after in the future. Although retired it is still available online for clearance prices so get it while you can before you’re forced to turn to the secondary market.
