Endangered Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo born to mum Kitawa.
Keepers at Chester Zoo are celebrating the arrival of a rare Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo.
The male joey, who is yet to be named, was born to mum, Kitawa, and dad, Kayjo, as part of an international conservation breeding programme.
It’s the second time experts have bred the species at the conservation zoo, with only two UK zoos currently caring for the animals.
To commemorate the milestone, the zoo has released rare video footage revealing the secret world inside the kangaroo’s pouch. Experts inserted tiny endoscopic cameras into Kitawa’s pouch to track the baby’s development and carefully monitor her.
The footage will be used to help conservationists safeguard the future of the species. Native to the forests of Papua New Guinea, Goodfellow’s kangaroos have seen a 50 per cent decline in recent years owing to hunting and habitat loss.
Matthew Lloyd, a tree kangaroo expert at the zoo, said: “When people think of kangaroos, they rarely imagine small, fluffy animals living high in the treetops. With so little known about tree kangaroos, Kitawa’s joey is a particularly special arrival and represents a major step forward in understanding and protecting this remarkable species from extinction.
“Being able to carefully track this joey’s development inside the pouch using tiny cameras wasn’t possible only a few years ago, and it’s already helped us learn more crucial information about the early stages of life inside the pouch - knowledge that can now support, and hopefully speed up, our conservation breeding efforts globally.
“We don’t have a name for the little one just yet, but our choice will be influenced by communities in Papua New Guinea who live alongside tree kangaroos and are now part of efforts to protect their forest homes.”
Image (C) Chester Zoo.
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