Exciting news over at the Bronx Zoo with the first appearance of a 7-month-old tree kangaroo peeking out of its mother’s pouch.
The baby Matschie’s tree kangaroo was born in December, but at birth, Joey’s are only the size of a human thumbnail and immediately crawl into their mother’s pouch. On average, it takes a baby kangaroo seven months to emerge from their mother’s pouch where majority of its physical development happens, so the baby is right on time!
The last joey born at the Bronx Zoo was from the same mother in 2021. Matschie’s tree kangaroos are native to Huon Peninsula in Papua New Guinea. As mentioned, a joey is very tiny at birth but grows to be about 30 inches in length without counting the tail.
Their species is endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It’s assumed that there are less than 2500 left in the wild. Therefore this birth was very exciting for the zoo and Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
The mother and the joey can be seen at the Bronx Zoo’s JungleWorld exhibit. Learn more about the joey here.