"Elusive" and adorable potoroo baby born at Marwell Zoo sparking major excitement amongst staff
Marwell Zoo has said it is ‘so excited’ for the birth of its first baby potoroo, marking a major milestone.
The zoo has announced that an “elusive and tiny southern long-nosed potoroo joey”, has joined the family after staff saw the baby diving in and out of its mum’s pouch.
Arun Selby, primates and small mammals keeper at Marwell, said: “We’re so excited, this is our first ever potoroo baby. We're unsure of its gender because we haven't seen it much yet, apart from jumping out to join in at feeds. It has been out of the pouch, running around having its own zoomies.
“It hops very quickly. You see it very fleetingly and then it disappears into a hedge and runs back out. It will dive back into the pouch for the next month or so, but then it should be mostly out and about to see. It's very exciting news, and I can't wait to see it grow.”
Potoroo joeys start about the size of a jelly bean in the pouch, and has said now Truffle has been pregnant, she will almost continuously produce babies for as long as she can.
Arun added: “For us at Marwell, it's a great opportunity to learn because we haven't had a baby potoroo here before, so we get to see their parental roles. Mum Truffle and dad Neville have built two lovely little nests out there, which they do hide it in.”