New Baby Wallaby!

A baby wallaby has been spotted at Drusillas Park. Zookeepers nearly burst with excitement when they spotted a tiny head peeking out of its pouch for the first time. The little bundle of joy is the second baby for loving parma wallaby parents, Doris and Pip. Last year they welcomed their first baby, Phillip, and now the lucky pair are parents once again.

Mum, Doris, has been keeping the little one hidden safely away in her pouch, tucking her baby away so carefully that even zoo staff have only managed to catch one glimpse of the new arrival.

Head Zookeeper, Sophie Leadbitter, commented: “We are so excited by the arrival of a parma wallaby joey. We can’t be sure on an exact birth date because wallaby joeys will stay in their pouches for up to 4 months. But he / she is still quite pink and bald in areas, so we don’t think the baby can be very old.”

“The joey is just a neonate when it first crawls into the mum’s pouch; they are very undeveloped at this stage, so they stay in the pouch for a few months whilst they grow and develop. Just like any baby would in a womb.”

“We haven’t been able to get close enough to tell the sex of the joey yet either as the new parents are keeping such a close and loving hold of their gorgeous baby.”

Parma wallabies are the smallest species of wallaby, making the latest arrival easy to miss; Drusillas Zookeepers were delighted when they discovered a new baby on the block. Parma wallabies are close to being listed as an endangered species, so to have a successful breeding pair is very exciting for the Zoo.

Head Keeper, Sophie Leadbitter said: “Wallaby babies are a rarity for us, so we are truly delighted with the latest arrival. We hope to start seeing the baby more soon, he /she is still very young so it might be a little while before we get another sighting.”

“Right now, it’s just important that the parents are well looked after and able to raise their baby in peace.”