Leeuwarden, April 10, 2022 - Spring has arrived at AquaZoo Leeuwarden. Two Asian small-clawed otters, Balearic toads and one Tammar wallaby were born in the zoo in Leeuwarden.
The Asian small-clawed otter has a hard time in nature, partly because the habitat of these animals is being reduced due to deforestation. Small-clawed otters are also hunted for their fur or to be kept as pets. William Kreijkes, head of animal care, is therefore very happy with this birth in AquaZoo. "With this we contribute to the conservation of this species and we can make our visitors aware of the threats to these animals in nature."
At Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, red-necked wallaby Gidgee’s joey has been making more appearances out of the pouch, and it’s time to reveal his name! As a nod to wallabies’ native Australia, we named our newest joey Tim Tam (Tim, for short), after a popular cookie there.
At 7 months old, he has grown his full coat, and has begun popping out of mom’s pouch for quick zoomies, or to explore small bits of the grass of the wallaby yard. It usually isn’t long before he’s somersaulting back into mom’s pouch. We expect him to continue popping in and out of mom's pouch for another two months, or until mom decides it's time for him to move out.
Brookfield, Ill. — Things are really hopping at Brookfield Zoo—with wallabies that is. Three Bennett’s wallaby moms---Becky, Marion, and Talia—all gave birth to joeys in late 2020.
It is difficult to determine the exact date of a wallaby’s birthdate. When born, a joey is about the size of a bumblebee and weighs less than 0.03 ounces. Babies are born blind and hairless and migrate from the birth canal to the mother’s pouch without being noticed. There, they remain for approximately 280 days.
Becky’s joey, born approximately on October 31, 2020, spends the majority of its time outside of mom’s pouch. The youngest of the three joey’s was born to Talia around December 1, 2020, and has recently begun to emerge from its mom’s pouch and explore.
The third joey, a female named Whitney, was born November 12, 2020, and is being handreared, because her mom, Marion, required medical treatment. Out of an abundance of caution, veterinary staff determined it was in the best interest of both animals to remove the joey from Marion’s pouch.
Once Whitney is weaned from a bottle and more independent, she will be reunited with her mom and the rest of the wallabies, including the two joeys, at Hamill Family Wild Encounters. Until then, to keep Whitney socialized and active, animal care staff regularly take her outdoors to get plenty of exercise and sunshine. When not outside, she hangs out in a hand-sewn pouch that her caretakers carry while performing their tasks throughout the day. She seems to enjoy poking her head out and watching all the activity going on around her.
Wallabies, which inhabit coastal areas, woodlands, and grasslands in Australia, are marsupials—mammals best known for their abdominal pouches. There are more than 270 different marsupial species found around the world. Wallabies have a stable population in their range. However, they are sometimes killed as an agricultural pest and hunted for their meat. Fully grown, wallabies can reach up to 3 feet in height and weigh between 24 to 59 pounds, depending on the gender. Wallabies are hardy all-weather animals. In warmer temperatures, they lick their arms and hands, which causes their saliva to evaporate, cooling them off.
Those interested in helping care for the Bennett’s wallabies at Brookfield Zoo can contribute to the Animal Adoption program. For $35, a recipient receives the Basic Package, which includes a 5-inch x 7-inch color photograph of a wallaby, a personalized certificate of adoption, a Bennett’s wallaby fact sheet, and an Animal Adoption program decal. To purchase, visit www.CZS.org/AnimalAdoption.
It's a triple header and ZooBorns invites you to "Squee"-For-Three. This video features the baby Tiger trio at @Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society , A Colubus Monkey infant at @Gladys Porter Zoo , and The The Living Desert's recently emerged Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby.
A Red-necked Wallaby joey was photographed out with her keeper on September 4, just before exploring her new home at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park’s newest exhibit: “Walkabout Australia”.
The almost 11-month-old Wallaby is one of three joeys—Laura, Thelma and Tatum—who’ve finally settled into their grassy habitat at Walkabout Australia after weeks of commuting back and forth from their previous home at the Ione and Paul Harter Animal Care Center, where they were hand raised.
Photo Credits: Ken Bohn/ San Diego Zoo Global
The joeys currently stand over 20 inches tall and weigh between 9 and 13 pounds each. When full grown, Wallaby females can weigh between 26 and 35 pounds and reach a length of up to 3 feet from head to tail.
Animal care staff continues to bottle-feed the trio three times a day, but they will be gradually reducing the amount until the joeys are completely weaned by the end of October.
Guests visiting the Safari Park can see the Wallaby joeys in Walkabout Australia—an immersive, interactive experience that allows guests to discover the wildlife and habitats of the Land Down Under, and learn how Australia’s one-of-a-kind species interact with humans who share their world.
A baby Wallaby which is being hand reared in a backpack after being found abandoned is delighting keepers at Longleat with his progress.
The baby, who has been nicknamed Newt, is thought to be around 30 weeks old. He has been adopted by keepers Gemma Short and Jodie Cobb, who carry Newt around in a substitute pouch made from a backpack.
Photo Credit: Longleat
The Red-necked Wallaby, who was rescued after being found abandoned during snowy weather, is thriving under the care of his keepers at this safari park in the United Kingdom.
“It appears that for some reason his mum let him out of her pouch during the cold weather but then refused to let him back in again,” said keeper Gemma. “We kept him under closer observation but when it became clear she had abandoned him, we had to step in and hand rear him.”
“Initially we had to feed him every two hours, but now he feeds at four-hour intervals and he’s starting to take solids,” Gemma said. “At first it felt a little strange to be carrying this backpack around but after a while you do get used to it. He’s a real character and is beginning to venture out on his own again and explore the outside world,” she added.
At birth, Newt weighed just 20 grams and was little larger than a baked bean. He crawled through his mother’s fur from the birth canal into the pouch where he began to suckle.
Volunteering to take over as surrogate mothers has been a real labor of love for the keepers - especially with feedings every four hours day and night.
Gemma and Jodie will have to keep up their role as adoptive parents for up to 18 months until the youngster is fully weaned and ready to return to the Wallaby colony.
Red-necked Wallabies, also known as Bennett’s Wallabies, are native to eastern Australia and the island of Tasmania. As marsupials, their babies are born in a highly underdeveloped state and complete their growth inside the female’s pouch. They feed on grasses and leaves during the night and rest during the day. Red-necked Wallabies are not under threat, and so are listed as a species of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Keepers at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo excitedly announced the arrival of Wallaby joeys! The bouncing babies have been spotted in their pouches in Edinburgh Zoo’s Wallaby Outback exhibit.
There are five joeys at present, each eagerly peeking out of mum’s pouch. There are also a couple already exploring the enclosure without mum.
Lorna Hughes, Primate Team Leader at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo, said, “It’s great to see the Wallaby mums with their new young and getting on so well. The babies will tend to stay close to mum for the first few months, but they can now be seen venturing out around the enclosure on their own…Wallabies are a marsupial mammal, which means they continue to breed throughout the year. We are looking forward to welcoming more this year, so keep your eyes peeled for them as you walkthrough Wallaby Outback!”
The sweet face of a Red-necked Wallaby joey recently emerged from its mother’s pouch at Belgrade Zoo.
The zoo currently does not have a name for the joey. Once the youngster begins to spend time outside of mom’s pouch, keepers will be able to determine the sex and find a proper name. They estimate the joey is about five to six months of age.
The Red-necked Wallaby, or ‘Bennett's Wallaby, (Macropus rufogriseus) is a medium-sized macropod marsupial, common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia, including Tasmania.
Photo Credits: Aleksandar Savic
Red-necked Wallabies are distinguished by their black nose and paws, white stripe on the upper lip, and grizzled medium grey coat with a reddish wash across the shoulders. They can weigh 13.8 to 18.6 kilograms (30 to 41 lb) and attain a head-body length of 90 cm (35 in), although males are generally bigger than females. Red-necked Wallabies may live up to 9 years.
After mating, a couple will stay together for one day before separating. A female bears one offspring at a time, and the young stay in the pouch for about 280 days, after which, females and their offspring stay together for only a month.
Females may, however, stay in the home range of their mothers for life while males leave at the age of two. Red-necked Wallabies also engage in alloparental care, in which one individual may adopt the child of another. This is a common behavior seen in many other animal species like wolves, elephants, and fathead minnows.
Red-necked Wallabies are mainly nocturnal, and they spend most of the day resting. Their diets consist of grasses, roots, tree leaves, and weeds.
The Red-necked Wallaby is currently classified as “Least Concern” by the IUCN. In Tasmania and coastal Queensland, their numbers have expanded over the past 30 years because of a reduction in hunting pressure and the partial clearing of forest to result in pastures where Wallabies can feed at night, alongside bush land where they can shelter by day.
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.
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.