ZooBorns

Peek-a-Boo Roo Joey for Zoo Brno

A little head peeked out from it's mother's pocket on an early spring day at ZOO Brno in the Czec Republic. This Kanagaroo Joey seemed ready for the camera and its close up as it inadvertantly struck several charming poses while snug in mom's pouch.

Kangaroo babies are "born" months before they ever get to be this size and peek out of the pouch like this. As marsupials, they come into the world after a gestation period of only 30-35 days in a hairless, underdeveloped state and find their way into mom's pouch where they continue to grow and nurse for about 10 months before they begin to leave it's safety for short periods. They may hop out but return there until they are fully weaned - at about the 13 months.

 

Photo Credit: Zoo Brno

Kangaroo Joeys Take a Peek at Their First Spring

The kangaroo yard at Ft. Wayne Children's Zoo in Indiana is jumping with seven Kangaroo joeys!

Most of the joeys were born last year in May or June, but they've only recently been out of their mothers' pouches, exploring the world around them. All of the joeys were sired by the zoo's only adult male kangaroo, Mako, who arrived there in March 2011.

Why are these babies only emerging now? Kangaroos are marsupials, so they are born in a highly underdeveloped state. Right after birth, the babies, or joeys, crawl to the pouch, where they remain for months nursing and growing.

Now, even though a joey might be too big to fit into mom's pouch, that doesn't stop the joey from trying.  Visitors should not be surprised to see odd combinations of legs, feet, tails, and noses poking out of pouches, much like the below!

Photo Credit: Ft. Wayne Children's Zoo

Little Roo Joey For Franklin Park Zoo!

Franklin Park Zoo has a new addition - a Red Kangaroo joey! The joey is approximately six months old and began to poke its head out of its mother’s pouch a few weeks ago. Kangaroo babies are born after a very short 30 to 35 day gestation and are about the size of a jelly bean. Joeys begin to emerge from the pouch for short periods at around 190 days. They will feed from the mother for up to a year, but at about eight months will start to try solid food.

Photo credits: Sarah Woodruff / Franklin Park Zoo

The joey, whose sex is not yet known, was born to mother Skippy, age 6, and father Binowee (an Aboriginal word meaning “green place”), age 4. The birth marks the first joey at Franklin Park Zoo since 2005.

Wallaby Joeys Galore for Linton Zoo!

Linton Zoo's Parma Wallaby females are pouch full of Wallaby joeys! The troupe was introduced to a new male last year and they have been breeding with much success! By the end of the 1800s the Parma wallaby was declared extinct. It was not until 1965 that a small surviving population was found on Kawau Island (near Auckland). Another wild population was later found in Gosford, New South Wales in 1967. It is from these few animals that the entire current population of Parma Wallabies descends.

Below is a shot of one of the joeys in Mom's pouch when it is still hairless and too small to peek out!

Trinka the Wallaby Thrives After a Rocky Start

Trinka, an endangered Parma Wallaby joey, is being hand raised at the San Diego Zoo nursery. Her name is an Australian aboriginal word for daytime. She's small but strong, and her keepers describe her as sweet and expressive. She was found on the ground outside her mother's pouch when she was very small and had to be hand raised at the San Diego Zoo nursery. She was given a faux "pouch" to snuggle into and she comes out of it for a little exercise during the day. Feeding small babies like Trinka can be difficult, but the San Diego Zoo keepers are experts, and Trinka is doing great finishing off her four bottles a day.

Photo credits: Ken Bohn, San Diego

Baby Tree 'Roo Is Popping out of the Pouch

Woodland Park Zoo's Matschie’s Tree Kangaroo joey is growing up fast, so here are some new photos and video to fill you in on how it is getting along in its behind-the-scenes exhibit. Now eight months old, the joey has begun to leave its mother’s pouch for short bursts, doing a little exploring and then retreating back to the pouch for naps. Keepers do not know the sex of the joey yet so for now he or she remains nameless. The joey is mostly eating leaves but also munches on greens including kale, romaine and celery. Mother "Elanna" is not so great at sharing, so the joey has learned to go after the food it wants for itself.

Follow Matschie's progress and other Woodland Park Zoo babies on their outstanding blog.

Photo credits (from top): Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo, Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo, Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo

Video credits: Footage from keepercam, produced by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo

Elanna and joey are in a behind the scenes exhibit to give them the quiet and comfort this sensitive species requires, especially since Elanna is a first time mother. The Woodland Park Zoo is using cameras and students are assisting with observations so they can study the interactions between the mother and joey and keep a close eye on their progress.

Happy Outcome For Wallaby Joey

The good people at Zoo Budapest have been hand-rearing a male tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii) that they have aptly named Frodo Baggins. Unfortunately he fell out from his mother’s pouch on March 13, 2011, when he was just five months old, and it was impossible to put him back into the pouch.

Normally a newborn kangaroo -- or joey, as they are called -- is born after a gestation period of just 39 days. The joey’s hind limbs are not yet developed enough at this stage, but its forelimbs are. This allows it to crawl into its mother’s pouch to nurse and continue to develop.

Today Frodo is nine months old and the hand-rearing process is almost completed. During the daytime, he lives in the outdoor enclosure together with the other members of the tammar mob, but durning the night he sleeps yet in an artificial pouch -- the textile bag you see here. He can now eat solid food, but he is still being fed milk four times per a day.

Photo Credit: Zoo Budapest

Can You Guess What This Image Is? No Scrolling!

If you guessed a baby Kangaroo, you were right! Woodland Park Zoo's six-month-old Tree Kangaroo joey is showing its face a bit more these days, if only in quick peeks. A Tree Kangaroo joey will typically remain in its mother’s pouch for about 10 months. Once out, it’ll continue to return to its mother’s pouch until it is fully weaned, usually at around 13 months. Tree ‘roo mom Elanna is taking good care of the joey and the two are doing well in a quiet, behind-the-scenes exhibit at the zoo.

Woodland Park Zoo is home to the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program that is working to protect the endangered tree kangaroo and help maintain the unique biodiversity of its native Papua New Guinea in balance with the culture and needs of human communities.

Photo credits: Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo

If you’d like to help conserve tree kangaroos, you can go to www.zoo.org/treekangaroo/give, or use your cell phone to donate $5 to the program today by texting ROOS to 20222. Messaging & Data Rates May Apply. All gifts will be doubled by a generous $1 million match from Conservation International until June 30, 2011. For more info visit www.zoo.org/treekangaroo.

Baby Wallaroo Peeks Out of the Pouch

This doe-eyed Eastern Wallaroo was born in mid-August 2010 at the Oakland Zoo, but he's just now coming into the world. Why? 

Wallaroo babies, called Joeys, are technically born after only one month's gestational period - fur-less, blind, and about the size of a kidney bean (1’’long). This tiny newborn will crawl unaided from the birth canal to the mother’s pouch where it begins to nurse. There it will continue to develop, not making an appearance until it is six to eight months old.

Typically, a Joey will not start coming and going from the safety of its pouch with any regularity until approximately ten months of age... but can be seen for short periods between eight and nine months.  It will feed from mother's milk for 18 months, though on warm days during that time it may go out of the pouch to have a little bite of grass.

Related to the kangaroo, there are four types of Wallaroos: Eastern Wallaroos, the Northern, the Barrow Island Wallaroo and the Euro. The Eastern Wallaroo, like this one, is found throughout Australia.They seek refuge from the sun in caves and under ledges by day and feed at night, finding water by digging in dry creek beds. The dingo and the Wedge Tail eagle are predators of young Wallaroos. Once fully grown though, they can remain completely still to avoid being seen by predators, but are also capable of escaping at quite high speeds.

A Near Perfect Pouch for a Tiny Wallaby Baby

Four-hourly-feeds are the norm for keeper Alex Pinnell who has taken charge of an orphaned Wallaby joey at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo. The tiny Wallaby named Pip was abandoned by her mother and so is being hand-reared by Alex, who is using her rucksack as a makeshift pouch for the little marsupial.

Photo credits: ZSL Whipsnade Zoo

Alex, 29, who works on the farm section and with the sealions, keeps Pip with her during the day at all times, just as her real mum might do and also has to make sure she is fed – every four hours. The seven-month-old joey will be looked after by Alex for the next few months. After that, she will live on the zoo’s Children’s Farm, where visitors will be able to see her hopping around with the other free roamers.
 
For the next few months though, mum’s the word for Alex who is getting used to her new charge:

“She is adorable but exhausting! Luckily she is starting to sleep through at night now and is very good at taking her bottle!”

Alex can also looking forward to her first Mother’s Day at the zoo as surrogate mum to little Pip.