The second baby of a tree-dwelling kangaroo made its public debut this week in New York, poking its pink head head out of its mom's furry white pouch.
The tiny Matschie’s tree kangaroo, or Dendrolagus matschiei, was born in December and is the second born to the same mother since 2022. It also was the third of its kind born at the Bronx Zoo since 2008.
The tree kangaroo species only gestate for about six weeks before they are born and immediately crawl into their marsupial moms' pouches, the zoo said in a statement. It takes around seven months for the young to start peeking out of the pouch.
In a statement Friday, a Bronx Zoo spokesperson said that the kangaroo's birth was significant for the network of zoos that aims to preserve genetic diversity among endangered animals.
“It is estimated that fewer than 2500 remain in the wild. They are threatened by habitat destruction, unsustainable hunting practices, and other human activities,” the statement said.
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The tree kangaroos are native to the Huon Peninsula in Papua New Guinea. They live primarily in trees and are smaller than Australia’s better-known red kangaroo. An adult tree kangaroo weighs between 20 and 25 pounds (9–11 kilograms). The joeys are about the size of a human thumb when they are born, but grow to as long as 30 inches (76 centimeters).
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Wildlife restoration programs often lean on zoos for genetic diversity. For example, wolves reintroduced to the wild are often given zoo-born pups to raise, reducing the risk of inbreeding while expanding wild populations.
