Marsupials

A Tasmanian tiger at the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania. The last known living Tasmanian tiger died at the zoo in 1936.

Scientists Collect First RNA From an Extinct Tasmanian Tiger

No other RNA has ever been extracted from an extinct species, so the breakthrough opens doors to understanding the biology of long-gone organisms

A bandicoot uses its nose to sniff out subterranean insects, leaving behind shallow holes known as “snout pokes.”

The Unlikely Survival Story of Australia's Bandicoots

The defenseless marsupial was nearly wiped out by invasive species. Now rescuers are pinning hopes on a remnant island population

Vaccinations of wild koalas began in March this year. For now, scientists hope to inoculate 50 individuals.

Scientists Begin Vaccinating Wild Koalas Against Chlamydia

The effort is part of a field trial to limit the debilitating bacterial disease that can cause infertility, blindness and death

Northern quolls are the smallest of Australia's four quoll species.

Too Much Sex and Too Little Sleep Can Kill These Endangered Marsupials

A study finds male northern quolls forgo rest to travel up to 6.5 miles in one night in search of a mate—the equivalent of a human walking 25 miles

Thylacines were dog-like, carnivorous marsupials.

Why the Idea of Bringing the Tasmanian Tiger Back From Extinction Draws So Much Controversy

Using gene-editing technology, researchers hope to “de-extinct” the iconic marsupial carnivore

An eastern barred bandicoot explores its space in the Werribee Open Range Zoo.

How Australia’s Eastern Barred Bandicoot Came Back From Extinction

With help from a captive breeding program and the watchful eyes of sheepdogs, the small mammal has been reintroduced to the country’s plains

Scientists suspect that the wombat evolved this unique trait to mark its territory on rocks and logs with poop that won’t easily roll off

Wombats Poop Cubes, and Scientists Finally Got to the Bottom of It

The marsupial’s unique digestive tract forms square dung

Taxidermied bare-nosed wombats glowing under a black light at the Western Australia Museum.

Wombats and Tasmanian Devils Glow Under Ultraviolet Light

Preliminary experiments suggest even more species of mammals may possess the UV glow

Two sequential photos showing a kangaroo alternating its gaze between a box full of food it can't open and a human.

Kangaroos Communicate With Humans Like Dogs in Experiments

The study suggests people may have previously underestimated the communication abilities of other non-domesticated species

Tasmanian devils nip at each other's faces while eating carcasses and during mating season, providing opportunities for infectious face cancer to spread.

Study Offers Hope for Tasmanian Devils, Once Thought Doomed by Infectious Cancer

In the late 1990s, one affected devil infected an average of 3.5 others, but now each only infects about one

A painting that imagines what a living Mukupirna nambensis and its surrounding environment would have looked like some 25 million years ago near Lake Pinpa, Australia.

300-Pound, Wombat-Like Creature Once Roamed Australia

Paleontologists describe a new species of extinct Australian marsupial that is most closely related to modern wombats but was the size of a black bear

Swamp wallabies can nourish three separate offspring at once: an older joey that's left the pouch, a young one nursing inside of it, and an embryo that has yet to be born.

Swamp Wallabies Can Get Pregnant While Pregnant

These marsupials can conceive during the final days of an ongoing pregnancy, creating a “backup” embryo ready to take its predecessor’s place

Baby wombat and mother on Maria Island.

You Can Visit This Australian Island, but Only if You Pledge to Skip the Wombat Selfie

The marsupials on Maria Island are so docile, tourism officials are asking the public to stop getting so close

Can Scientists Save an Endangered Marsupial by Breeding Out Its Taste for Poisonous Toads?

Some northern quolls do not eat deadly cane toads. New research suggests their aversion is an inherited trait

A black eastern quoll with white spots decked out with its GPS collar.

Endangered Eastern Quolls Are Born on Mainland Australia for the First Time in 50 Years

Three of the feisty marsupials, which had been reintroduced to the wild, were found with joeys in their pouches

Wakaleo schouteni

New Species of Extinct Marsupial Lion Deepens Their Fierce Family Tree

The dog-sized animal adds more diversity to the history of Australia's largest predator

Kangaroo herds dominate Australians ecosystem today, outcompeting other organisms

To Save Australia's Ecosystem, Ecologists Say Eat Kangaroos

With a soaring population, the iconic marsupials are overwhelming other species and may soon run out of food

Australian Zoo Asks For Help Naming Rare White Koala

Among the suggestions thus far are “Tofu” and “Daenerys”

Two thylacines at the Smithsonian National Zoo around 1905. A thylacine brain from the Smithsonian Institution was scanned as part of a study to learn more about the extinct marsupial, but it is unclear whether that brain belonged to one of the animals pictured.

How Scientists Reconstructed the Brain of a Long-Extinct Beast

This dog-like marsupial went extinct 80 years ago, but its preserved brains help us glean how its mind worked

A wallaby in the mist on the Irish island of Lambay.

What the Heck Are Wallabies Doing in Ireland?

Normally spotted in Australia, the marsupial species is thriving on a remote island off the Irish coast

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