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Not one, but TWO wallaby joeys are starting to steal the hearts of every explorer in Australia Walkabout! Gidgee and her sister, Katt, are both carrying 5-month-old joeys who are starting to poke their heads out of the pouch, taking in the world around them. This is Gidgee’s third joey and Katt’s first. Both moms are doing well, adjusting to life with their little pink pouch occupants. The joeys are developing quickly, with their limbs, eyelashes, whiskers, and facial features becoming more distinct. Both joeys are likely to start exploring the yard on their own two feet around mid-April.
Exciting news! One of the red-necked wallabies in our mob, Gidgee, is carrying her third wallaby joey. Gidgee was first time mom to Clifford in 2020 and had her second joey, TimTam, in 2021.
It’s hard to know the exact birth date but we think that Gidgee’s wiggly joey is about two months old. Wallaby joeys are born after approximately 29 days of gestation and are about the size of a jellybean. After the joey is born, it crawls into their mother’s pouch and latches onto a nipple for about 3 months. Joeys typically pop their heads out of the pouch around 5 or 6 months and start regularly exploring outside the pouch at around 7 months.
Keep an eye out for a little pink wallaby head popping out of Gidgee’s pouch in March and a bouncy joey exploring the yard in June.
Gidgee’s joey has been making more appearances out of the pouch, and it’s time to reveal his name! As a nod to wallabies’ native Australia, we named our newest joey Tim Tam (Tim, for short), after a popular cookie there.
At 7 months old, he has grown his full coat, and has begun popping out of mom’s pouch for quick zoomies, or to explore small bits of the grass of the wallaby yard. It usually isn’t long before he’s somersaulting back into mom’s pouch. We expect him to continue popping in and out of mom’s pouch for another two months, or until mom decides it’s time for him to move out.
Oh, babies! It’s been a busy spring at CMZoo. Get up-close for a check-in with our Spring 2021 babies! Join keepers for a gender and name reveal with our ring-tailed lemur born on April 26, and an update on its twin cousins born July 11. Next, hear how our Red River hoglet is getting along and already participating in voluntary training with its keepers. Finally, see how red-necked wallaby, Gidgee’s, pouch joey is growing and starting to show its hairless little face in Australia Walkabout.
Earlier this month, we announced that Gidgee, our 2-year-old red-necked wallaby, has a joey in her pouch! Join us as we get another pouch peek at this little one, who is still hairless and is starting to try to open his eyes. Bruce, Australia Walkabout keeper, will tell you more about the joey, its family, and its upcoming milestones.
Simply by visiting the Zoo, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo members and guests contribute to important global conservation work.
“Watching the devastating bushfires in Australia from our living rooms in Colorado can leave you feeling helpless and wondering what you can do to make a difference,” said Bob Chastain, CMZoo president and CEO. “It’s important to note that from every membership and every ticket to the Zoo, we set aside funds to support frontline conservation fieldwork around the world, and specifically now, in Australia. We want people to know that coming to the Zoo is conservation in action.”
Since starting in November 2019, the bushfires in Australia have devastated more than 27 million acres, claiming more than 30 human lives and more than a billion animal lives.
This week, CMZoo members voted to send $20,000 to Zoos Victoria’s Bushfire Emergency Wildlife Fund, in Australia. The funds support long-term care for bushfire-impacted animals, including supplementary feeding and habitat restoration, in conjunction with the Australia Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Parks Victoria, and associated recovery teams. Donations from Zoo employees, board members, docents and an internal Zoo match program raised $6,900 in support of Zoos Victoria, making the collective donation $26,900.
“We have been closely watching the devastation in Australia and working to find the best ways to support the recovery,” said Dr. Liza Dadone, CMZoo vice president of mission and programs. “Last week, we asked our members if we could send a portion of their annual Member Conservation Grant funds to Zoos Victoria. Our members’ collective supportive response was immediate.”
Each year, CMZoo members vote for conservation projects to receive a share of $75,000 allocated from membership revenue. The $20,000 donation comes from that membership revenue. In March, members will vote to guide CMZoo’s decisions about which other projects to support, as they do every year. Since 2015, including this contribution, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Member Conservation Grants have provided $395,000 of membership revenue to support field conservation worldwide.
“Because our members regularly visit Australia Walkabout at the Zoo, they have formed meaningful connections with the animals they’ve seen in these heartbreaking news stories out of Australia,” said Emma Repp-Maxwell, CMZoo membership and annual gifts manager. “As a leader in conservation, we’re committed to helping people make those connections, and taking it a step further by providing opportunities for our members to contribute to the amazing work being done to save and protect the animals left.”
About Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
Cheyenne Mountain Zoological Society was founded in 1926. Today, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, America’s mountain Zoo, offers comprehensive education programs, exciting conservation efforts and truly fantastic animal experiences. In 2019, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was voted #6 Best Zoo in North America and CMZoo’s Rocky Mountain Wild was named #5 Best Zoo Exhibit in North America by USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. It is Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s goal to help guests fall in love with animals and nature, and take action to protect them. Of the 233 zoos and aquariums accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is one of just a few operating without tax support. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo depends on admissions, membership dues, special event attendance and donations for funding.
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has welcomed a new red-necked wallaby to the mob! Australia Walkabout Lead Keeper, Bailey Jones, introduces us to the two-year-old male wallaby, P. Sherman, and provides an update on how introductions are going with CMZoo’s existing group of wallabies.