Woodland Park Zoo Wildlife Conservation

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Papua New Guinea

Tree Kangaroo
Program Personnel

Dr. Lisa Dabek - Principal investigator/director the TKCP. Director of conservation at Woodland Park Zoo; affiliate researcher at the University of Papua New Guinea; adjunct professor University of Rhode Island; research coordinator of the AZA's Tree Kangaroo Species Survival Plan; chair of the AZA Field Conservation Committee; former chair of the AZA's Marsupial and Monotreme Taxon Advisory Group.

Susan O'Neil - TKCP Coordinator. Susan works in the Conservation Department of Woodland Park Zoo solely on TKCP. She manages grants, writes proposals, oversees the budget and accounting process and works as a liaison between the U.S. and oversees components of the program. Susan has a Master's in Conservation Biology and previously worked with the National Park Service's Inventory & Monitoring Program in San Francisco and Seattle.

Based in Cairns, Australia:

MORE:

DOWNLOADS:

2004 TKCP Annual Report

2005 TKCP Annual Report

2006 TKCP Annual Report

MAJOR THREATS:

Overhunting for meat and fur
Habitat destruction from logging, mining and agriculture

LINKS:

Tree Kangaroo Fact Sheet

Toby Ross -TKCP Conservation & Research Manager. Living and working in Lae, Papua New Guinea until August 2007, Ross managed a variety of field projects and championed the YS Conservation Area through all levels of government. Ross in now living and working in Cairns, with regular trips to Port Moresby and Lae, PNG. Ross continues to oversee conservation projects and is assisting in establishment of the YUS Community-Based Organization.

Susan Tallarico - TKCP Capacity-Building & Training Manager. Previously the TKCP Education Specialist based in Seattle, Tallarico now lives and works in Cairns where she oversees all aspects of the education and healthcare projects. She is also working toward establishment of the YUS Community-Based Organization.

Gabriel Porolak - TKCP Research Coordinator and graduate student. Porolak is in his second year at James Cook University in Cairns under the guidance of Drs. Andrew Krockenberger and Lisa Dabek. His Master's thesis looks a the home range and habitat use of Matschie's tree kangaroos by radio-collaring animals on the Huon Peninsula.

Based in Papua New Guinea:
Danny Samandingke - TKCP Education Coordinator. Samandingke, previously the head teacher at a PNG village school, attends the University of Goroka through a TKCP sponsorship where is in his second year of a Bachelor's degree program. Samadingke works with Tallarico to coordinate the annual Village Teacher Training Workshop and sits on the YUS Education Committee.

Karau Kun, Jr. - TKCP Mapping & Monitoring Coordinator. Kuna uses GPS units to map all clan-pledged lands within the Conservation Area. He received his honor's degree from the University of PNG in 2007 for his creation of a GIS database and the field mapping project. Kuna also participates in other field projects as needed, such as radio tracking tree kangaroo.

Dono Ogate - Conservation Officer. Ogate is a local landowner trained and hired by the TKCP to hold conservation awareness events in areas and villages where TKCP has previously had little presence due to difficult access. Ogate has also served as a key assistant to the boundary mapping project and organizes village workers for the radio-tracking research assistance.