Ooty: Kangaroo cousin lived in western ghats?

Ooty: Western Ghats appears to be the home of the Kangaroo’s cousin, a species in the Marsupial family of the Kangaroos, if one goes by the claim made by Kerala based conservation biologist and researcher Dijo Thomas, as he intensified his studies on Raktha Athika, otherwise known as Vampire Kangaroo, which was spotted a couple of times in Tirusuur area in Kerala three years ago. But, after studying its morphology and behavior, it was confirmed it was a new species which most probably is a distant cousin of Kangaroo family or family of marsupials.“But, what is very distinctive is that unlike the Kangaroo, which is herbivorous, this Raktha Athika, belong to a different species, is a blood sucker. But, one looks at the evolution angle one can draw conclusion that there is a possibility of a sub-species or an ancient species of Kangaroo family living in Western ghats. Since, this Raktha Athika is a rare and rarely spotted animal, it is obvious, the presence of this animal with marsupial traits has not come to the fore now,” he explained and added that more studies in western ghats in deep woods is needed to arrive a further inference on this species which must have ancient history like dinosaurs.