Diprotodon

Diprotodon (Diprotodon opatum) are the largest-known marsupial to have ever lived, it greatly exceeds the size of its closest living relatives wombats and koalas. Native to Australia they went extinct 40,000 years ago but were back to life via cloning and temporal dislocation technologies by the Greene Foundation in 2011.

Diprotodon has been conjectured by some authors to have been the origin of some aboriginal mythological figures—most notably the bunyip—and aboriginal rock artworks but these ideas are unconfirmable.

Description

Diprotodon grow as large as 5 ft 11 in at the shoulders, over 13 ft from head to tail, and can weigh almost 7,700 lb. Females are much smaller than males. Diprotodon support themselves on elephant-like legs to travel long distances, and inhabited most of Australia. The digits were weak; most of the weight is borne on the wrists and ankles. The hindpaws angle inward at 130°. Its jaws can produce a strong bite force of 2,300 newtons (520 pounds-force) at the long and ever-growing incisor teeth, and over 11,000 newtons (2,500 lb) at the last molar. Such powerful jaws allow them to eat vegetation in bulk, crunching and grinding plant materials such as twigs, buds and leaves of woody plants with its bilophodont teeth.

Ecology

Diprotodon are the only marsupial and metatherian that is known to make seasonal migrations. Large herds, usually of females, will march through a wide range of habitats to find food and water, walking at around 3.7 mph. Diprotodon will form polygynous societies, possibly using their powerful incisors to fight for mates or fend off predators, such as the largest-known marsupial carnivore Thylacoleo carnifex. Being a marsupial, the mother will raise her joey in a backwards facing pouch on her belly, as in wombats.

adult Diprotodon have very few if any natural predators with the only two animals able to take down an adult being the previously mentioned Thylacoleo carnifex and large Saltwater Crocodiles.

Conservation

In the decade since their revival, about 100 Diprotodon have been released in New South Wales and Queensland. Where the ecosystems there have seemed to benefit from the presence of these massive herbivores. Diprotodon populations have been steadily rising as well, with wild births often surviving into adulthood.

Many Australians have grown fond of the wild Diprotodon, as many people will travel to see them in their natural habitat, creating an economic boom for smaller and more rural communities. The government of Australia has also been incredibly kind to them due to their charisma.

Diprotodon have become a staple at Australian Zoos, they can be found at nearly every zoo large enough to facilitate them. Australia Zoo, Taronga Zoo, Sydney Zoo, Melbourne Zoo, Alice Springs Desert Park , Perth Zoo, Werribee Open-range Zoo and Adelaide Zoo all have large breeding herds of Diprotodon in their collection

Outside of Australia the best places to see a Diprotodon would be San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park