At the kangaroo enclosure in Tama Zoo, you often hear people saying, "I wonder if there's a baby in her pouch?" When you think of kangaroos, you probably picture a baby peeking out of its pouch, right?

The gestation period for Red Kangaroo is about one month. The baby is born approximately 2 centimeters long. The newborn immediately moves into the pouch and spends about eight months there. The baby only starts to show its face during the last month of those eight months.

Even after emerging from the pouch, the baby will continue to pop out and go back in for almost a month. In total, you can see the baby's face peeking out of the pouch for about two months.

Of the 11 female turtles currently being kept at Tama Zoo, eight are carrying babies in their pouches. Their names are Misaki, Sugar, Lemon, Minami, Yuuki, Suzuka, Natsuki, and Kazumi.

You can see the babies peeking out from Misaki and Sugar's bellies (photo above).

However, the other six babies remain in the pouch. How can we find the mother with her babies?

The clue is the area in front of the "cloaca" (the cloaca is where the end of the digestive tract and the end of the urogenital organs meet. The opening from there to the outside of the body is the "cloaca." Kangaroos have their cloaca at the base of their tails).

If the abdominal area in front of the cloaca is slightly sagging, there's a possibility that there's a baby inside. Keep staring at it. If there is a baby, you should be able to see the sac twitch.

In the photo above, the baby is estimated to be about 10 centimeters long and still naked. The baby in the photo below is even smaller and may not have its eyes open.

Try stopping in front of the kangaroos for a longer time than usual and observe them carefully.

Photo above: The baby is peeking out.
In the photo: The baby appears to be about 10 centimeters long and completely naked.
Photo below: The baby's eyes are likely not yet open.

Related news: Baby kangaroo spotted climbing on its mother's belly!"

[Tama Zoo]

(November 21, 2008)