Adelaide Zoo successful in a world first for conservation.
Eight months after his mother was killed by a falling tree branch, Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo 'Makaia' has been unveiled to the world at Adelaide Zoo.
Adelaide Zoo
A special breeding technique known as "cross-fostering" involved the transfer of the five-week-old joey to the pouch of a surrogate mother of a different marsupial species, in this case a Yellow-foot Rock-wallaby.
“We’ve had great success over the years’ cross-fostering between wallaby species, but the specialised breeding technique has never been used on a tree kangaroo,” Adelaide Zoo Veterinarian, Dr David McLelland, said.
Adelaide Zoo
After an anxious couple of days, keepers were overjoyed that the wallaby had accepted the joey and in January they got their first look at Makaia sticking his head out of the pouch. Cuuuuuute!
Adelaide Zoo
"It was certainly a sight to see a tree kangaroo joey, with its reddish-tan fur, bright blue eyes and long claws riding around in a wallaby," said Gayl Males, Adelaide Zoo Team Leader of Natives.
Adelaide Zoo
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