Maned Wolf Pups at Greensboro Science Center
Roses Are Red…and This Endangered Baby Is Too!

Wallaby Joey Surprises Taronga Zoo Keepers

1_Wallaby Joey_Photo by Paul Fahy (16)

Keepers at Taronga Zoo are celebrating the unexpected birth of an endangered Brush-tailed Rock-Wallaby – more than a year after its father left the Zoo!

The joey recently started peeking out from mother Mica’s pouch to the surprise of keepers and delight of keen-eyed visitors.

“We weren’t planning for another joey, so it was quite a shock when we started seeing something moving inside the pouch,” said Keeper, Tony Britt-Lewis.

2_Wallaby Joey_Photo by Paul Fahy (8)

3_Wallaby Joey_Photo by Paul Fahy (9)

4_Wallaby Joey_Photo by Paul Fahy (10)Photo Credits: Paul Fahy / Taronga Zoo

 

The birth is the result of a phenomenon known as embryonic diapause, which enables certain mammals to extend their gestation period and time the birth of their young.

The reproductive strategy, which is used by a number of marsupial species (including: Kangaroos, Wallabies and Wombats), usually occurs when adverse environmental conditions threaten the survival of the mother and her newborn.

“It’s an interesting survival mechanism that allows the mother to delay the development of the embryo in drought conditions or if she already has a joey in the pouch,” said Tony.

Experienced mother Mica was carrying another joey in her pouch up until August last year, some five months after the only resident male, Sam, had moved to another wildlife park. Keepers suspect that Mica mated with Sam soon after giving birth to the joey growing in her pouch, and the resulting embryo stayed dormant while her pouch was occupied.

Tony said keepers are yet to determine the sex of the surprise joey, but it appears to be very healthy and about six months of age.

“Mica is a confident and attentive mum and her joey looks to be very strong. It shouldn’t be long before we start to see it venturing out of the pouch to take its first wobbly steps,” he said.

The Brush-tailed Rock-Wallaby (Petrogale penicillata), also known as the Small-eared Rock-Wallaby, is one of several Rock-Wallabies in the genus Petrogale.

Once abundant and widespread across the rocky country of southeastern Australia, Brush-tailed Rock-Wallabies are now listed as an endangered species in NSW (New South Wales, Australia), and they are classified as “Near Threatened” on the IUCN Red List. They were hunted extensively for their meat and fur in the early 1900s and today they continue to be threatened by habitat loss and introduced predators, such as foxes and feral cats.

Taronga Zoo is part of a coordinated program helping with the recovery of the species. Visitors may spot the newest joey in Taronga’s Platypus Pools exhibit.

5_Wallaby Joey_Photo by Paul Fahy (11)

6_Wallaby Joey_Photo by Paul Fahy (3)

7_Wallaby Joey_Photo by Paul Fahy (4)

8_Wallaby Joey_Photo by Paul Fahy (6)

9_Wallaby Joey_Photo by Paul Fahy (13)

10_Wallaby Joey_Photo by Paul Fahy (14)

11_Wallaby Joey_Photo by Paul Fahy (1)

12_Wallaby Joey_Photo by Paul Fahy (5)

13_Wallaby Joey_Photo by Paul Fahy (18)

14_Wallaby Joey_Photo by Paul Fahy (7)

Comments