Zoo Releases Precious First Moments Baby Kangaroo Sticks Head out of Mama's Pouch
The 1982 Ridley Scott movie “Blade Runner” is considered a classic, not only due to great performances by its actors but also for its unique science-fiction setting.
Set in a future where lifelike androids are nearly indistinguishable from humans, police have to resort to esoteric tests to determine who’s man and who’s machine. And these tests involve weighing individuals reactions to questions about animals.
Why? Because in the movie, Fifi and Fido and almost all of Earth’s fauna have gone extinct. Questions about calfskin wallets and stranded tortoises get asked, but I think Harrison Ford (who played an investigator) could’ve simplified the whole thing by just showing a picture of a kangaroo.
There’s more than one reason why kangaroos elicit such delight among adults and kids alike: their perky ears, their bouncy gaits and their utterly adorable offspring.
We all know that baby kangaroos, which are called joeys, are totally cute and get carried around in pouches by their mothers. But Science Score has served up some odd facts about their birth.
For instance, did you know that baby kangaroos are born after only 33 days gestation? They’re about the size of a bean and, get this, they have no hind legs, using their forelimbs to drag themselves from the womb into their mother’s pouch.
According to Live Science, that’s the point when joeys begin their growing in earnest, drinking milk while in the pouch. They also urinate and defecate while they’re in there, and still the pouch somehow remains clean.
It seems a miracle that any of the hoppy creatures make their way into the world. Yet they do, and it’s often a cause for celebration, particularly at Australia’s Healesville Sanctuary.
The Sanctuary recently shared a video of a little joey named Kofi welcoming the world for the first time. A Goodfellow’s tree-kangaroo, Kofi plays a coy game of hide and seek in the footage.
The seemingly sleepy little guy peers out at the world and licks his chops. Then he disappears back into his warm cocoon.
With each emergence, Kofi seems a little more alert. He eventually pops his forelimbs out and begins to claw at branches that his mother is noshing on.
It might seem strange to celebrate the birth of a kangaroo since the Land Down Under is positively lousy with them. But Goodfellow’s tree-kangaroos are a breed all their own.
Squat and stubby, these animals spend most of their time above the ground. Though they’re dexterous in the limbs of a tree, they’re somewhat clumsy on the ground.
Perhaps that’s why poachers have so greatly reduced their numbers. According to Arkive, they’re actually endangered.
The site reported, “Hunted for its meat, this species appears to be extremely vulnerable to poaching, having rapidly disappeared from areas of intensive hunting, even by surprisingly small human populations.” But all isn’t lost for this adorable marsupial.
Kofi and his ilk may represent a new future for this type of kangaroo. Thanks to the efforts of Healesville Sanctuary, many more generations will get to enjoy this adorable marsupial.
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