NEW YORK (Reuters) – A baby Matschie’s tree kangaroo made its public debut at the Bronx Zoo in New York City on Friday, peeking its head out from its mother’s pouch.
As it matures, the baby kangaroo – or joey – will begin to explore its environment and start spending more time outside the pouch.
At birth, the joey is about the size of a human thumbnail and immediately crawls through the mother’s fur to enter her pouch. After about seven months, the joey emerges from the pouch, but frequently returns to nurse.
The joey is the first of its species born at the Bronx Zoo since 2008. It is the result of the zoo’s participation in a cooperative breeding program administered by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies the Matschie’s tree kangaroo as endangered and estimates that fewer than 2,500 remain in the wild. Also known as the Huon tree kangaroo, it is native to the forests of the Huon Peninsula of Papua New Guinea.
Tree kangaroos are arboreal and live within the canopy of mountain forests, generally at elevations above 4,000 feet (1.22 km).
Fourteen different species of tree kangaroos are found in areas of Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Australia.
(Reporting by Christine Kiernan; editing by Diane Craft)
