local schools and teachers as well as advancing the medical care for the people, and recognizing particular habitats needed for the tree-kangaroos to flourish. The Woodland Park Zoo is very keen on helping the Matschie's population grow and develop, and they have also seen that mothers develop their young better if they are removed from the males after mating. A Species Survival Plan has been developed by zoos around the world to help conserve the Matschie's tree-kangaroos and stop the destruction of their natural habitat as well as keep healthy populations growing in the zoos. By keeping them in zoos, researchers hope to build up the populations of the Matschie's. They are strongly committed to building up the population because Matschies’ are the most widely exhibited species in zoos around the world. Scientists are still trying to learn more about Matschie's tree-kangaroos and are conducting studies to watch and help the populations in the wild. In 2009 the YUS Conservation Area has been established to protect the habitat of Matschies’ in the northern part of the Huon Peninsula. YUS stretches over 760 km² and includes three rivers: Yopno, Uruwa and Som, after which it was named. Comparison of the genetic diversity of the captive breeding population to wild populations is done to evaluate how the captive breeding program is retaining the population's genetic diversity over time. In a study done by McGreevy et al. (2010), “AZA Matschie tree kangaroo’s haplotype diversity was almost two times lower than wild Matschie tree kangaroos.” This difference with allele frequencies shows the changes that can happen over time like genetic drift and mutation when a species is taken out of its natural habitat. References External links ARKive - images and movies of the Huon tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus matschiei) Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program - saving the tree kangaroos Macropods Marsupials of New Guinea Tree-kangaroo, Matschie's Tree-kangaroo, Matschie's Tree-kangaroo, Matschie's Mammals described in 1907 Articles containing video clips Huon Peninsula montane rain forests