ROYAL OAK, Mich. – A baby wallaby can now be seen at the Detroit Zoo following its birth in October 2020 -- the first to be born at the zoo since 2010.
The joey, which has not yet been named, lives in the two-acre Australian Outback Adventure with its mother Eloise, two other wallabies and 13 red kangaroos.
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“This is Eloise’s first joey. She’s very protective,” said Elizabeth Arbaugh, curator of mammals for the Detroit Zoological Society (DZS).
According to zoo officials, joeys immediately crawl into their mother’s pouch after birth and continue developing, usually for a few months. Officials said this week makes the first time the joey came out of Eloise’s pouch.
“Joeys don’t start getting fur until about six months. Now that there is a fine layer of fur, the joey is starting to venture out,” Arbaugh said.
Officials said the sex of the baby wallaby will be determined once it is older and mostly out of the pouch.
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