Healesville Sanctuary has come out of lockdown with a brand-new arrival: a Kangaroo joey who is just starting to poke its head out of its mum’s pouch.
Despite being eight months old, the Kangaroo Island kangaroo joey is not yet venturing fully out to brave the brisk Healesville winter. However, visitors can frequently see the active little baby poking its head, tail, ears or feet out of mum’s pouch.
“We don’t know what gender the joey is yet, but we’d expect to see it venture completely out of the pouch in the coming weeks,” said Sanctuary keeper Katherine Sarris. “Once it does, we’ll be able to give it a full health check and name it.”
Ms Sarris said mum Penny is a calm and caring mum and already has another youngster born at Healesville Sanctuary, who is the big sister to this new joey.
“We’d expect to see the siblings playing together once the joey is out of the pouch. The young ones love to jump around and play-fight, which is an important part of socialisation.”
Kangaroo Island kangaroos are a relatively small and delicate subspecies, known for their long eyelashes and easy going temperaments.
“There are no native predators on Kangaroo Island, so they’ve evolved to be really relaxed,” Ms Sarris said. “Our Kangaroo Island mob are huge favourites with visitors because they’re so curious and friendly.”
Zoo members and visitors are reminded that all tickets to the Zoo must be pre-booked at zoo.org.au and are asked to follow the current CovidSafe directions at www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au
