Curiosity has prompted him to peak out of his mum’s pouch, but he is yet to wander much from it. Just ten days ago, the staff of the Zagreb Zoo noticed that the pouch was moving, which meant that the zoo at Maksimir had become richer for another swamp wallaby, the first ever born in Zagreb. There are three others which already live at the ZOO, but they came from other European cities, reports Večernji List on May 2, 2019.
“The head of the family is the three-year-old male Skibo, who came from Belgium. We also have two younger females who came from France,” explains the Zoo director Damir Skok, adding that one of them is the little wallaby’s mother.
Wallabies are a species of kangaroos living in the wilderness of eastern Australia, with an average weight of 15 kg. They grow to about 70 cm, and their tails are about the same length as the rest of the body. The baby will surely grow into a beautiful wallaby, says the ZOO employees, who will have to wait a little bit longer to see the new inhabitant running around his home.
“The cub stays in the pouch for about eight months, which means that he will be there for about half a year more," says Skok, explaining that the sex of the little kangaroo will only be known after he is seen for a bit longer. At the moment, the wallaby pops out of the pouch only when there is something exciting to see, but he remembers quickly that he should return to his mother. In the meantime, she is waiting for him, patiently and willingly.
“She is a great mom. This is the first cub for this family of swamp wallabies, but she knows what she is doing. And the other two, the male and the female wallabies, have no problems with the new member,” says Skok.
Swamp wallabies prefer a solitary life and gather in nature only at feeding time, mostly at night. Since they live in the wild and are relatively short for kangaroos, during the daylight, they are usually hidden in tall grass. However, the ones in Zagreb prefer to spend the sunny days sunbathing outdoors, just like other animals from Australia.
And all the animals from Australia will take part in the Australian day, which will take place from 11 am to 6 pm on Saturday, organised together with the Australian Embassy. Visitors will get to know the nature, sports, culture, gastronomy and customs of Australia, play Australian cricket and football and paint boomerangs, and they will also be able to visit eight areas of the garden that will represent different parts of Australia.
Translated from Večernji List (reported by Mateja Šobak).
More news about the Zagreb Zoo can be found in the Lifestyle section.
