Captain of the tree kangaroos

Today, in zoological circles, Dabek's name is synonymous with these kangaroos. She is now director of conservation and research at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence and is the recipient of several wildlife awards. She has raised substantial money for kangaroo conservation work, now funded largely through Conservation International and several zoos, including her own.

And she has steadfastly traveled every year to Papua New Guinea -- returning last week from her latest trip there -- learning her way through the forests, traveling as an accepted member of home villages, speaking a little of some of the 800 languages in use there, opening up international relations, bringing money and programs for local schools, and creating an exchange program between students in New England and those in Papua New Guinea.

And, so far, the worst calamity has just been a leech embedded in her eye. (Ick.)

Gone are the days when field biologists practically parachuted into areas to study animals without bothering to deal with local people and issues.

But it's hardly political correctness at work here. Becoming part of the culture is as pragmatic as it is soul-inspiring.

By immersing herself in the world of Papua New Guinea, Dabek has gained the trust and respect of the people who ultimately will be responsible for the tree kangaroo's survival.

Almost all the land in Papua New Guinea is privately held. And the owners -- clan leaders who farm and hunt -- have come to realize it is in their best interest to make sure tree kangaroos thrive. "I never tried to tell them not to hunt," Dabek says. Through her efforts, these land owners have set aside tracts once used for hunting as protected forest for tree kangaroos and other animals.

The count is more than 75,000 acres -- dwarfing Dabek's zoo and even the city of Providence itself. The swath cuts all the way from coral reefs at the Papua New Guinea shore to 13,000-foot mountains. The villagers who have made this commitment call the preserved land a "wildlife bank." And still, of course, Dabek isn't stopping; she's hoping to double the acreage, to 150,000.

All this effort for an animal most people have never even heard of. Matschie's tree kangaroos are quite different from the larger, more familiar land-hoppers: In fact, her kangaroos tend to eschew hopping altogether.

There are 10 kinds of tree kangaroos; eight are found only on the island of New Guinea, the other two in northeastern Australia.

The Matschie's tree kangaroos live most of their lives eating leaves up in the forest canopy. They are capable of spectacular leaps -- about 60 feet down to the ground. They are about the size of a large raccoon and sport a cream and brown coat and a long tail.

The animals are a puzzle, and the big questions about them remain: How far do they range? What exactly is the social structure of these mainly solitary animals? What are their activity patterns?

By studying kangaroos in captivity (the Roger Williams zoo has three) and tracking them in the wild, Dabek hopes to answer questions that will lead to a broader understanding and more effective conservation efforts.

The captive kangaroos are certainly doing their bit to help. They have helped in testing radio collars, in providing dung and blood samples, and in submitting to "pouch checks" to determine whether the females have given birth.

Most of Dabek's previous studies in the wild have consisted of collecting dung, a tried-and-true scientific tool. But now that the tree kangaroos are in a study area where they are not being hunted (hunting dogs stress the kangaroos beyond measure), they are easier to approach, capture, and collar with radio transmitters.

On this past trip to New Guinea, Dabek's team observed two wild Matschie's tree kangaroos from about 4 in the morning till sunset. And though Dabek wasn't with the team at the time, she is giddy: This was probably the single longest observation of these animals by any scientist ever.

The kangaroos -- and their world -- have obviously become an obsession for Dabek. And it's easy for even nonscientists to see why. Tree kangaroos are handsome. And with their fairly slow metabolisms, they have an aura of serenity. They seem to possess some Yoda-like wisdom.

But whatever is at the heart of Dabek's fascination with them, it is enough to send her out, over and over, into the remote forests of Papua New Guinea, hiking for hours with just an energy bar and some water, camping in tents, and performing lab work under a tarp. She loves the simple life there, she says, of hiking and living outdoors, of returning to camp in the beautiful light of sunset and listening to the roar of the cicadas.

In the camps and villages, she says she now feels as if she's home. And though what she has accomplished in New Guinea is fairly easy to measure, what she has gotten in return is not. "They've taught me so much about wildlife," Dabek says, "and really, just about life."