It’s a joeyful news! Bronx Zoo announced the birth of a rare tree kangaroo. A baby tree kangaroo that’s just poking its nose out of its mother’s pouch is the first of its species born at the Bronx Zoo since 2008, zoo officials announced Friday.
The Matschie’s tree kangaroo is a Papua New Guinean kangaroo that is an endangered species. They usually reside in the mountain rainforests. Fewer than 2,500 Matschie’s tree kangaroos are believed to remain in the wild, according to conservationists. Habitat destruction, poaching, and other human activities all pose a threat to them.
Birth of Joey: Nature’s most intriguing evolutionary adaptations
The kangaroo is significantly smaller than the well-known red kangaroo of Australia. Male Matschie’s tree kangaroos weigh between 20 and 25 lb as adults. According to zoo experts, The joey was born approximately the size of a human thumbnail.
The birth of the Matschie’s tree kangaroo joey “is an exciting birth for the Bronx Zoo and a unique opportunity for people to observe one of nature’s most intriguing evolutionary adaptations,” zoo director Jim Breheny said in a news release. “At this stage of development, The joey will spend a lot of time in his mom’s pouch with just its head sticking out,” Breheny also said. “As it matures it will begin to explore its environment and start spending short periods of time outside the pouch.”