Baby Wallaby Hops Around the Utica Zoo for the First Time [VIDEO]
He keeps getting bigger and bigger! Watch him hop around!
The Utica Zoo is excited to see their newest member out in the exhibit for the first time by himself. This is Tapioca, the zoo's wallaby joey, who was growing for the past year in his mom's pouch.
It was only in December when we got our first glimpse of the joey. Though he was born almost a year ago, marsupials take nearly 9 months to fully develop.
The entire time for pregnancy only lasts about a month. They are born hairless and weighing on average under .04 ounces. The joey will then crawl its way into their mothers pouch and continue to grow there.
Eventually, the joey just becomes too big to stay in their mother's pouch anymore. That... or this is the kangaroo version of kicking your lazy kid out of the house and into the real world.
If you want to meet Tapioca and his mother for yourself, you can! The Utica Zoo is open daily from 10am to 4:30pm, with special events also scheduled throughout the year. They like to post all their updates on Facebook, but you can find more information on their website as well.
Believe it or not, you can actually own a wallaby for yourself in New York State. Though it might cost you a bit much to do so.