Entertainment Swindon

The Wiltshire estate recently welcomed the arrival of a brush tailed bettong joey, a first for the park and a milestone moment for the species which is classified on the IUCN Red list as near threatened.

The joey, which has not yet been named, is thought to be approximately 90 – 100 days old and weighs just 135 grams. As a marsupial, joeys are born after 12days of gestation, before spending 90–98 days in the mother’s pouch.

Animal Adventure Lead keeper, Gemma Short, has been caring for the joey around the clock, after it was rejected from the pouch earlier than usual.

Gemma said “Our joey was sadly rejected by mum, so we’ve had to step in and continue their care. It is always a last resort to hand-rear, but we had no choice.

This has meant feeds every four hours with puppy milk, but we’re starting to introduce solid foods as well.

“We’re so pleased the joey is doing well and putting on weight steadily.

“This is a huge milestone here at the park as it is our first bettong joey and we’re pleased to announce that it is a girl, making her vitally important to the breeding programme, especially as until recently, brush tailed bettongs were classified as critically endangered.”

The estate’s bettong’s live in Koala Creek and can be seen hopping along the floor of the habitats. The species are mostly nocturnal and known as ecosystem engineers, due to their digging for food. This regularly turns over topsoil helping to cycle nutrients, water and aeration.

Gemma said, “While the joey won’t be able to be seen while we hand-rear her, we hope guests will visit our pair of bettongs at Koala Creek through half term.”