Wildlife includes the tree kangaroo, wallaby, ring-tailed opossum, and bandicoot. Among abundant reptiles are the crocodile, lizard, and many varieties of snake, including the python. The majority of people are engaged in agriculture, lumbering, petroleum drilling, fishing, and pearl diving. Although a relatively small area is under agriculture, the bulk of New Guinea's population are subsistence farmers. Yams, taros, sago, sweet potatoes, corn, bananas, cassavas, rice, and sugarcane are the chief crops.
Tropical fruits grow abundantly.
Major cash crops of Papua New Guinea are coffee, cacao, sugarcane, palm oil, tea, and rubber. Tuna, prawns, and timber are also exported. A newly established sugar industry in Papua New Guinea has made the country self-sufficient in this commodity. Natural resources of the island include water power, forests, and minerals, but most of them are not developed because of very limited transportation facilities. Copper is the major mineral resource.