Prepare for major feels: When this baby wallaroo's mother passed away, Oakland Zookeepers stepped in.
— Oakland Zoo (@oakzoo) March 15, 2017
more: https://t.co/jsQ0ILGE7Q pic.twitter.com/tmecIEts7q
After a five-month-old infant wallaroo lost its mother to an infection two weeks ago, zookeepers at the Oakland Zoo have been hand-feeding and raising the l'il thing, which normally would be spending a few months more in its mama's pouch.
The male joey, seen in the video above, doesn't have a name yet, and as the zoo explained in a release, the hand-raising and keeping him warm will continue until he's big and old enough to join the other wallaroos in the "Wild Australia" exhibit, at about eight months old.
The joey's mother, a three-year-old wallaroo named Maloo, was a first-time mother, and zookeepers noticed her acting strangely on March 1, when she removed the baby from her pouch something that typically indicates something very wrong. She was checked out by vets and determined to have an infection, but died after being treated only one day with antibiotics.
Andrea Dougall, the zoo's assistant zoological manager, says "While staff is very sad about the passing of Maloo, we are working with other [Association of Zoos and Aquariums] facilities to be best prepared for the intense care required to successfully hand-raise a wallaroo." She adds, "We are keen to get to know the little joey and prepare him for life with the rest of the mob."
As CBS 5 notes, the baby wallaroo is being fed seven times a day with special formula imported from an Australian company called Wombaroo.
Wallaroos represent three species of macropods who are neither as large as kangaroos nor as small as wallabies. They are found in various places in Australia,
Previously: Video: Adorable Baby Baboon Frolics At Oakland Zoo