Several months after it was born, a baby wallaby has finally stuck its head out of mom’s pouch and taken a look at the world.
Zookeepers at the Smithsonian National Zoo observed the joey kicking around in the mother’s pouch for several weeks but the pup didn’t actually peek out until March 11.
Its birth date is unknown, but zookeepers think the joey was born about five months ago. It’s expected to start spending time outside the mother’s pouch in one to two months, according to zoo officials.
Wallaby gestation lasts only for 29 days. When pups are born, they are hairless, blind and weigh less than an ounce. Despite that underdevelopment, they use their arms to climb into their mother’s pouch, where they will finish developing over the next few months.
This joey is the first for parents Victoria and Sydney, and the first Bennett’s wallaby born at the zoo since 1989.
It’s possible that Victoria is already pregnant with another pup. Zookeepers will continue watching for pregnancy.
