Adorable Common Spotted Cuscus-People

Even though our home, Papua New Guinea, makes up only one percent of the Earth’s total land area, it houses five percent of global biodiversity. The people of Papua New Guinea are very respectful of nature, which explains why most of the Papua New Guinea’s rainforests have been well preserved.

My people, the common spotted cuscuses, also known by scientists as Spilocuscus Maculatus, are medium-sized animal-people living mainly in New Guinea and the Cape York Peninsula of Australia. We also have over twenty other close relatives. Rainforests, mangrove trees, and eucalyptus trees are our favorite places to build our sweet homes.

We common spotted cuscus-people have a round head, a pointed nose, and small ears that are barely visible. One of our striking features is our big round eyes with slit pupils like those of the cat-people. As you may have guessed, our diet is plant-based. Our favorite foods are fresh fruits, but we are not picky eaters.

As arboreal animals, we are perfectly equipped for living in trees. We common spotted cuscus-people are marsupial. That means our babies develop outside the mother’s body in a pouch. We live mostly a solitary life, only coming together when it’s time for us to find our soulmate. We are very shy and secretive, so it is very hard and rare for humans to spot us. Deforestation is happening at an alarming rate right now.

It was also estimated that by 2021, 83 percent of the country’s accessible forests and 53 percent of total forests would have been destroyed or severely damaged. According to NASA, by the year 2000 half of all the world’s rainforests had been cleared, and if this rate is to continue, we will have no more rainforests by the end of the 21st century. Disturbingly, we common spotted cuscus-people are also killed for our fur and our flesh. If everyone stops consuming animal-people flesh and their by-products, there will be no reason for slaughterhouses to exist, and the forests we call home will not be cleared to grow food for the animal-people trapped in the livestock factories. The world becomes a better place every time one person makes a positive change, and you can be that person today!