POCKETS FULL OF JOEYS AT NIGHT SAFARI’S NEWEST TRAIL

WALLABY BIRTHS A FIRST FOR BENNETT’S AND PARMA SPECIES

First baby wallaby peeking out at Night Safari

SINGAPORE, 31 JULY 2012 – Just a few weeks before their newly-built home at Night Safari opens, zoo keepers saw tiny little heads peeking out of the pouches of their newest residents – the Bennett’s and parma wallabies. Both species arrived in January and were brought in for the park’s upcoming walking trail, the Wallaby Trail, scheduled to open on 17 August this year.

The birth of Bennett’s and parma joeys – 2 for each species – is a first for Night Safari since their arrival. Prior to this, both Night Safari and Singapore Zoo never had these two wallaby species in their animal collection. Bennett’s and parma wallabies are members of the macropod family which include marsupials such as kangaroos and tree-kangaroos. The parma wallaby is one of the smallest wallabies, with a length between 45-55cm (excluding its tail) and a body weight of up to 6 kg.

Visitors can expect close encounters with these wallabies in a walk-through exhibit at the Wallaby Trail, Night Safari’s newest trail that will bring visitors through a fascinating discovery of wildlife in the Australasian region. Other animals include Australia’s native bird, the tawny frogmouth, and the white-lipped python from Papua New Guinea.

Keepers noticed movement from the pouch of this female parma wallaby in mid-June. By the end of June, they saw a joey sticking its head out of the pouch.
Like most marsupials, females give birth to tiny, underdeveloped young carried in a special pouch. Inside the pouch, the joey attaches to a nipple and nurses for several months before venturing out into the world.

The Bennett’s wallaby is about 80 cm tall and can be identified through its thick and tawny grey fur, black paws and the red nape and shoulders.

A Bennett’s wallaby and its joey.
Even though the joey has grown big enough to leave the pouch, it will occasionally hop in and out of the pouch for the next few months to nurse.

BOUNCY BABIES ABOUND AT SINGAPORE ZOO’S AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK

- MARVELOUS MARSUPIALS FROM DOWN UNDER DOING WELL ON OUR SUNNY ISLAND
- VISITORS CAN NOW ENJOY THE ENDANGERED GOODFELLOW’S TREE KANGAROO IN THEIR NEW EXHIBIT

Singapore, 29 May 2012 – Recent visitors to Singapore Zoo may have noticed some tiny tots hopping around, their watchful mothers not far off. Like our human toddlers, these furry new additions to Australian Outback are active and quite adorable, but make a lot less noise!

We’re proud to announce the arrival of four new babies to our marsupial family– two Eastern grey kangaroos and two Agile wallabies.

Little Bella peeping out curiously from mum’s pouch

Bella now, comfortably and confidently exploring the exhibit on her own

Close to one-year-old now, Eastern grey juvenile Bella is coping well despite having lost her mother, Boo Boo, earlier this year. In the first few days after Boo Boo’s demise, Bella was observed to be showing signs of depression, as the pair had naturally been very close. However, she’s bounced out of it and is now having a great time exploring her large, naturalistic exhibit with her newfound friends – three other Eastern grey kangaroos.

Another Eastern grey, Tayla, gave birth on 28 December 2011 and is now nursing a joey in her pouch.

Proud mum Tayla poses for the camera with baby’s head and limbs peeking out of her pouch.

Unlike other mammals, kangaroos and wallabies give birth to undeveloped babies, called joeys. The baby uses its more developed forelegs to make its way through the thick fur on its mother’s abdomen into the pouch. This journey takes about three to five minutes. Once in the pouch, it fastens onto one of its mother’s four teats and starts to feed. After about 190 days, it is ready to make a full emergence from the pouch.

Our youngest baby girl is curious and just a little shy

Another two Agile wallaby babies have joined us at Australian Outback too, bringing the total collection to 10. These shy but curious creatures, also known as sandy wallabies, can be seen resting in their exhibit most of the time, but sometimes wander up to guests and their keepers. One has been fondly christened “Krookie” due to its crooked tail, while the other younger addition has yet to be named.

“While the Eastern Grey kangaroo and Agile wallaby are not endangered species, their presence in our Zoo allows our visitors to see animals not usually found in our climate and learn more about wildlife in general. In the long run, we hope to cultivate a love for the environment and all creatures, endangered or not,” said Mr Alagappasamy Chellaiyah, Assistant Director, Zoology, Singapore Zoo.

When visiting our adorable babies, remember to also stop by the new Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo exhibit. Native to Irian Jaya and Papua New Guinea, our pair of Goodfellows, Kimbe and Mava came from San Diego Zoo (United States) and Zoo Krefeld (Poland) respectively, and are just getting used to visitors (and each other) as they explore their new environment.

Though slow and clumsy on the ground, Goodfellow’s tree kangaroos are bold and agile in trees, and have been known to jump from heights of 9m to the ground with ease. Kimbe, one of two in our collection, has fun scaling the trees in her exhibit.

Goodfellow’s tree kangaroos are classified as endangered in the wild by the IUCN*, and are mainly threatened by human activities such as hunting and encroachment on their habitats. They are characterised by their striking chestnut to red-brown colour, long golden-brown tail and two golden stripes which run down their backs.

Come down to Australian Outback and marvel at other mysterious creatures from Down Under, such as the cassowary and carpet python. Our Feed-a-Roo sessions, where guests can feed and interact with our kangaroos and wallabies, take place at 11:00am and 4:00pm daily.

*International Union for the Conservation of Nature