A baby wallaby has just emerged from its mother’s pouch at the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert, delighting attendees and conservationists alike.
The wallaby joey was born to mother Aja earlier this year and is expected to leave her pouch completely in about another month and a half.
The yellow-footed rock wallaby is one of the most colorful members of the kangaroo family, with distinctive yellowish coloring on their arms and lefts. It is a species native to arid parts of Australia, but it is threatened by habitat loss and is now restricted to an area of less than 700 square miles.
The recent winter storms and heavy have left the wallabies and joey unfazed, says the zoo’s animal care curator Heather Down, who said that their exhibit was built with crevices and covered areas with their natural habitats in mind.
“They are well adapted to go long periods without water, relying on the hydration from the plant life they eat for their hydration,” Down said.
“But when it rains, they’ll take advantage and in minutes can drink up to 10% of their body weight. Though they always have plenty of fresh water available to them, they will definitely take advantage of drinking out of the puddles in the rain when we actually get rain!”
The species can only be found in four zoos in the United States, according to a Living Desert spokesperson. The zoo says that the birth of the joey is a significant conservation milestone.
