SAN ANTONIO — There’s a new face at the San Antonio Zoo, but you’ll have to look closely to spot it.
A baby Matschie’s tree kangaroo, known as a joey, is beginning to poke its head out of mom Finni’s pouch, giving visitors their first glimpses of the zoo’s newest arrival.
Finni and dad Tobai are the zoo’s resident Matschie’s tree kangaroos, and their little one has apparently decided it’s finally time to start checking out the outside world.
For now, that mostly means popping its head out of mom’s pouch before retreating back inside.
A little joey with a big role
The new arrival is cute, but its birth is also important for a species facing serious trouble in the wild.
Matschie’s tree kangaroos are endangered and are found only on the Huon Peninsula of Papua New Guinea. Fewer than 2,500 adults are estimated to remain in the wild, where habitat loss and hunting threaten their survival.
The birth of this joey is an exciting moment for our team and for conservation efforts worldwide,” San Antonio Zoo President and CEO Tim Morrow said. “Every Matschie’s tree kangaroo birth is a meaningful step forward in protecting and preserving this incredible species for generations to come.
The joey was born as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan, which coordinates breeding among accredited zoos to help maintain healthy and genetically diverse populations of threatened species.
Conservation groups are also working with communities in Papua New Guinea to protect the tree kangaroos’ rainforest habitat, including more than 190,000 acres within the YUS Conservation Area.
Why is it called ‘kangaroo care?’
The tiny arrival is also providing an unusual connection between the animal world and new human parents.
San Antonio Zoo is partnering with Methodist Healthcare to use the joey’s relationship with Finni to explain “kangaroo care,” the practice of placing a newborn directly against a parent’s bare chest after birth when medically appropriate.
And yes, the name really does come from kangaroos and the close contact between a mother and her joey.
There is something incredibly powerful about those first moments when a parent holds their baby skin-to-skin,” said Samantha Pierce, a certified nurse midwife with Methodist Physicians OB/GYN and Midwifery clinic at Methodist Hospital | Metropolitan. “After months of waiting to meet their baby, families finally have the opportunity to hold them close and simply be together. Beyond bonding, skin-to-skin contact can also provide important health benefits for newborns, including helping regulate body temperature, breathing and heart rate. We want parents to know they can talk with their care team before delivery about skin-to-skin contact and what they hope those first moments will look like.Want to see the joey?
Visitors won’t find the youngster bouncing around the zoo just yet.
The joey is still spending most of its time safely tucked inside Finni’s pouch, but it’s becoming increasingly curious about what’s happening outside.
Visitors may be able to catch one of those peek-a-boo moments at Wild Australia near Lory Landing.
And if you don’t spot the little face right away, don’t give up. The zoo expects the joey to spend more time emerging from mom’s pouch as it grows over the next several months.