AUSTRALIA Zoo has announced the arrival of one of Australia’s cutest native marsupials – a wombat.
A healthy baby girl was born on New Year’s Day and has been growing steadily in her mum Poa’s pouch before finally emerging recently for her first look at the world.
At just over nine months old, the new addition to Australia Zoo’s wombat family has already developed an independent streak, handed down from her grandmother Minibus. More and more of her sweet, stubborn and mischievous nature is shining through.
Now weighing in at 2.6 kgs, this little ball of energy has begun perfecting her speedy running style and has also been snacking on a few solid foods, with sweet potato being the favourite so far.
Playtime is the highlight of each day and she’s quickly learning and developing the skills needed to grow into a strong, confident wombat.
Bindi Irwin has already had a cuddle with the joey and much like the rest of Australia Zoo, is smitten.
“We’re thrilled to announce that we have an adorable new addition to our wombat family; it’s safe to say we’re all totally in love here at Australia Zoo,” she said.
“This little girl has only just come out of the pouch in the last couple of weeks and is super cuddly and soft. She’s lapping up all the attention from her loving keepers and all of us here who’ve met her.
“At the moment she’s doing what every baby does – eating, sleeping and getting used to her surroundings but she’ll eventually be out and about with our other wombats for visitors at the zoo to see. We’ll be keeping everyone updated on her progress and naming on our social media pages.”
Given that wombats are born the size of jellybeans, the joey has grown incredibly fast, especially in the last few months. Over the coming weeks she’ll gradually meet the other adult wombats while exploring all the potential new burrows in her home here at the zoo.
This wombat joey is part of Australia Zoo’s baby boom, joining a whole host of other exotic and native animals born this year including lemurs, a giraffe, tiger cubs and koala and kangaroo joeys.
Over the past 13 years, Australia Zoo has seen six wombat joeys born and raised successfully as part of their common wombat breeding program.
Every animal born at the zoo plays an important conservation role by inspiring people to protect and appreciate wildlife through life-changing experiences.
