A rare tree kangaroo born in The Bronx at the end of December has finally come out of the marsupial pouch.
The tiny Matschie’s tree kangaroo, considered endangered by International Union for Conservation of Nature since 1996, can be seen poking its head out of its mother’s pouch in a post by the Bronx Zoo on X.
At birth, the tree kangaroo joey is the size of a jellybean, and the majority of its physical development occurs in the mother’s pouch. Joeys don’t emerge fully from the pouch for about seven months, the zoo said, and returns to it frequently to nurse.
This is the second of the species born at the Bronx Zoo and to this female since 2021, according to a release.
Visitors can see the joey and its mother in the Bronx Zoo’s JungleWorld exhibit.
It is believed there are only about 2,500 Matschie’s tree kangaroos left in the wild, in their native Papua New Guinea and the Huon Peninsula.
In August 2022, a Matschie’s tree kangaroo was born at San Diego Zoo Safari Park, the second time the species was born at that zoo.