The youngster was actually born a few months ago, but this is the first time zookeepers caught the baby peeking out from his mother’s pouch. The zoo, which is based in Chester, England, shared a video of the joey poking its head out on Twitter.
The dusky pademelon is a marsupial found on the islands around Indonesia and on New Guinea. It’s kind of like a “miniature kangaroo.” Pademelons are born just the size of a jelly bean, said the zoo. When the baby reaches adulthood, it’ll be just under two feet tall.
Like kangaroos, pademelon infants spend the first few months of their lives safely snuggled up in their mother’s pouch, according to the zoo. It’ll still be a few weeks until guests can see the joey hopping around the enclosure by himself.
The pademelon population has declined 30% in the last twenty years, mostly because of hunting. The species is considered “Vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
