Here is a video of all of us, taking our first uncertain, wavering steps into the great big wider world. But specifically, it’s a southern hairy-nosed wombat joey who’s the latest addition to Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo.
Chicago Tonight reports that this as yet unnamed critter was in fact born in February, but “it wasn’t until the end of August that the zoo’s new wombat joey emerged from the pouch of her mother, 17-year-old Kambora, and became visible to animal care staff.” The outlet adds that, “At birth, a wombat joey is tiny and hairless, about the size of a bumblebee. It climbs into its mom’s pouch, where it attaches to a teat and remains there for several months, according to the zoo.”
“It’s just anecdotal, but the keepers believe that this little girl is more independent and more precocious than ones in the past,” said the zoo’s mammal curator (?), Amy Roberts. “She doesn’t hang by mom; she doesn’t hide by mom.”
