PHOTOS: Baby wallaby at National Zoo peeks out of pouch

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.

His birth date is unknown but zookeepers guess his age is around five months. (Courtesy Roshan Patel/Smithsonian Zoo)
The joey’s birth date is unknown but zookeepers guess its age is around five months. (Courtesy Roshan Patel/National Zoo)
The wallaby peeked his head out of his mother's pouch for the first time March 11. (Courtesy Roshan Patel/Smithsonian Zoo)
The joey peeked its head out of the mother’s pouch for the first time March 11. (Courtesy Roshan Patel/National Zoo)
A wallaby pup hasn't been born at the National Zoo since 1989. (Courtesy Roshan Patel/Smithsonian Zoo)
A Bennett’s wallaby hasn’t been born at the National Zoo since 1989. (Courtesy Roshan Patel/National Zoo)
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His birth date is unknown but zookeepers guess his age is around five months. (Courtesy Roshan Patel/Smithsonian Zoo)
The wallaby peeked his head out of his mother's pouch for the first time March 11. (Courtesy Roshan Patel/Smithsonian Zoo)
A wallaby pup hasn't been born at the National Zoo since 1989. (Courtesy Roshan Patel/Smithsonian Zoo)

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.

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