The grizzled tree kangaroo is a marsupial with powerful forelimbs and curved claws suited to climbing. In the wild it eats leaves, fruit, and soft bark, and most records come from primary forest.
It has a sturdy forebody, a small head, and a flat muzzle. Its powerful arms and long, curved claws help it climb and move between trees.
A 2026 review combined geological, fossil, genetic and morphological evidence and described New Guinea as four island blocks from the mid-Miocene to the Pliocene. It identifies the Vogelkop Block as the first route used by marsupials arriving from Australia, and considers it likely that ancestors of the grizzled tree kangaroo reached New Guinea by this path.
This species is one of the endemic New Guinean marsupials listed in the review. The authors compared geological history with fossil, morphological and genetic evidence to assess which blocks received marsupial lineages. The proposed Vogelkop route links the animal’s present distribution with the island’s geological history.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
A 2024 hunting study lists the species among animals hunted in coastal villages on the Bird’s Head Peninsula, where it was used for meat and decoration material. In interviews with hunters from six ethnic groups, each group reported customary limits on at least one of four areas: target species, tools, hunting grounds or timing. The authors recommend combining village customs with formal law.