The full story remains a mystery, but a parma wallaby joey was found out of her mother's pouch "dirty, cold, bruised, but alert," according to a San Diego Zoo press release, which indicated that the little joey had been rejected by her mother.
Human parents sometimes kick their kids out of the house, but the results may be even more painful when the "house" is physically attached to the parent.
BLOG: Seeing the Bounce in Kangaroos
I'll jump to the happy ending, though. As you can see by the above photo, the joey -- named Trinka -- is doing OK now, thanks to good care by senior keeper Janet Hawes, whose hand is holding the bottle.
Trinka is now receiving four feedings daily. Weather permitting, Trinka also enjoys "sun time" in a vacant yard near the zoo's wallaby exhibit, as well as relaxed moments in a nursery playpen. Such activities are part of her socialization, preparing Trinka to join the other wallabies.
Little Trinka, who weighed less than 2 ounces when found, now holds the distinction of being the youngest and smallest marsupial ever successfully raised at the zoo. In addition to being such a lightweight, Trinka also had no body hair and had ears still pinned to her head when she was first discovered.
HOWSTUFFWORKS: What's the difference between a wallaby and a kangaroo?
The normal development for a wallaby joey is to be born the size of a kidney bean, totally unformed, and to then finish growing inside the mother's pouch for later entry into the real world strong and ready for action. It remains unclear why Trinka had such a rough start. Some reports say if marsupial moms develop illnesses such as mange, they will reject their young. Zookeepers then have to simulate the pouch environment to support the growing joey.
Further complicating care is the fact that wallaby joeys don't have a suckling response, as other mammals do. As a result, and because of her small size, Trinka required many frequent daily feedings before settling into the four-a-day routine.
According to the zoo, "the little wallaby has shown remarkable strength. While she is normal in every way, she is very small. Keepers are encouraged by her determination and are starting to notice personality traits in her: sweet, gentle, but expressive."
Parma wallabies are an endangered species found throughout Australia and New Guinea. Thought extinct before the turn of the 20th century, a surviving population of parma wallabies was found on Kawau Island near Auckland, New Zealand, in 1965. This discovery inspired a captive breeding program for the species. Another population was found in the forests of New South Wales, Australia.
The San Diego Zoo is now hoping to raise funds for a specially designed pouch to help with the development of marsupials like Trinka. To donate, please go to Animal Care Wish List.
To view footage (no sound) of tiny Trinka, Download Parma Wallaby B-Roll1
Tags:
comments ( )