The species occurs in mid-montane tropical forest, typically containing Podocarpous, Libocedrus, Auraucaria, Rapanea and Syzygium species. No formal diet studies have been conducted, but it is thought D. scottae feeds on vines including Scaveola and Tetracera species, epiphytic ferns and leaves from various forest plants (information from Tensile Conservation Alliance: http://www.tenkile.com/tenkile-tree-kangaroo.html). Unlike other tree kangaroos, this species spends a high proportion of time on the ground (Flannery 1995). Animals are wary and are usually only encountered as solitary individuals, although small groups were recorded in the past (Flannery 1995). There does not appear to be a breeding season, and the females seem to give birth to one, or possibly two, young (Flannery 1995).

This species has an extremely restricted distribution and occurs in only two locations: the Torricelli Mountain Range, and Mount Menawa in the Bewani Range to the west of the Torricellis (http://www.tenkile.com/tenkile-tree-kangaroo.html).

In the Torricelli Range, the Tenkile Conservation Alliance (see http://www.tenkile.com) has recorded the species within an area of 150 sq km from Wuguble village in the west to Mupun village in the east (J. Thomas pers. comm. 2015). The occurrence of the species in the Bewani Mountain Range has been confirmed (J. Thomas pers. comm. 2015). The size and extent of occurrence of this population are not known, but are likely to be small.

There is a community-based conservation project in place for this species in the Torricelli Range (the Tenkile Conservation Alliance: www.tenkile.com). This includes a hunting moratorium, monitoring of abundance and distribution and collaborative research. The Papua New Guinea government has committed to the establishment of a Protected Area covering ~200,000 hectares of mid-montane forest within which the species is found in the Torricelli Range. Declaration of this PA should be complete within the next five years (Jim Thomas per. comm. 2015). There is an urgent need to survey to population in the Bewani Range, establish whether this does represent a distinct sub-species as currently suspected, and assess the status and threats to this population.