In 2022, four Red Kangaroo were found at Tama Zoo delivery bagShuttai (I managed to get completely out of my mother's pouch.)

Red Kangaroo have a short gestation period of about 33 days and give birth to very immature babies. The newborns immediately climb back into their mother's pouch on their own. Because the babies are so small and it is difficult to confirm pregnancy and birth, Tama Zoo designates the day when animal keeper confirm the baby has emerged from the pouch as its birthday (birthday).

This time, we'll introduce the experiences of four parent-child pairs who went on a trip to the pigeon field in 2022.

The first birth of a calf in early 2022 was confirmed on April 11th, with the calf being "Yona," the offspring of "Singha." Singha is the youngest of the four mothers, and this is her first time raising calves. We were worried about how things would turn out because Singha has been restless since she was a calf and is still small. However, contrary to our worries, Yona has grown steadily, is already about half the size of Singha, and is eating with the other adults.

Next, on June 13th, "Mosco," the offspring of "Korn," hatched, followed by "Mule," the offspring of "Daisy," on July 17th. These two pairs were quite contrasting, and observing them revealed a great deal of individuality.

Korn is the oldest of the four mothers and has experience raising cubs, so she's a bit strict. Even when Mosco calls out to her, she often eats her food without paying attention (although she does perform nursing and other parenting behaviors well). Perhaps because she grew up in such an environment, Mosco started eating earlier than the other cubs and didn't seem to mind much when her mother left, giving the impression that she's developing quickly.

In contrast, Daisy has given birth before, but all of her previous offspring died before emerging from the pouch, so this is practically her first time raising a calf. Compared to Korn, Daisy is more cautious, and she was seen searching for Mule as soon as he wandered away. Mule, on the other hand, stayed closer to his mother than Moscow and gave the impression of being more affectionate.

Moscow and Mule were quite contrasting, but both are growing well, and lately they are both mostly away from their mother except when they are being fed milk.

Lastly, we have the offspring of "Bell," who emerged from her pouch on November 22nd. She doesn't have a name yet, but she seems to be more active than the other three offspring, as she immediately started running around the enclosure after confirming she had emerged from her pouch. Bell had previously given birth to a baby in 2021, but unfortunately, the baby died about two months later. For that reason, we are especially hoping that this offspring will grow up healthy.

Currently, we have confirmed that other parents have puppies that are not yet born, so we are looking forward to seeing what kind of parenting will be seen in 2023.


From left to right: Mosco, Belle's child, Daisy
(January 13, 2023)