Guests visiting Disney’s Animal Kingdom may get a special treat during a visit to the Oasis. Our Tammar wallaby is carrying a baby (called a “joey”) in her pouch, and the joey (the team doesn’t know yet whether it’s a girl or a boy) often pops its head out to take a look around. The new baby, mom Adelaide and dad Tucker, share their habitat in the Oasis with Australian wood ducks.
The tammar wallaby is the smallest species of wallaby, and is native to the southern and southwest coastal areas of Australia. These wallabies grow to about two feet tall, with males weighing about 16 pounds and females about 12 pounds. Just like kangaroos, the Tammar wallaby will use its hind legs to kick in defense when threatened.
The gestation period is 128 days, and the newborn weighs less than one gram when it makes its way into the pouch unassisted. It will remain in its mom’s pouch for eight or nine months.
Tammar wallabies are herbivores that feed on grasses. Although they are not threatened in the wild, increases in domestic livestock have reduced the natural grassland vegetation available for wallabies. Introduced non-native species also can cause problems for native wildlife, like the wallaby, by creating competition for already scarce food and resources. This can be a problem for native wildlife in all parts of the world. We can do our part by preventing pets from bothering wildlife, and never releasing unwanted pets into the wild.
To find out more about Disney’s conservation efforts, please visit www.disney.com/conservation
Comments
Well that answers the question “which park should I go to this weekend?” Can’t wait to see the little joey! (Then might have to hop over to MK for that peanut butter apple thing. Sounds like a great weekend in the making thanks to Disney!
Mimicking the words of my 6 year old when she saw this, “Oh so cuuuuute”. Hoping we get to see little fellow or girl when we are there in 2 weeks.
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