Baby parma in Bojnice zoo. (source: TASR)
The BOJNICE Zoo, Slovakia’s oldest, recently witnessed its first Parma wallaby birth. The Environment Ministry, which oversees the zoo, announced the birth to the media.
The young wallaby is doing well and has even begun to wander outside the mother’s pouch. Adult Parmas grow to be 50 centimetres tall and weigh about 6 kilograms, being the smallest member of the genus Macropus. Scientists believed it to be extinct, until it was discovered to have survived in New South Wales in eastern Australia. It remains rare, however.
Parma wallabies usually live 6 to 8 years in the wild and can survive up to 10 years in captivity. They are unique among marsupials in that their pregnancies last only 30 days and the young continue to develop in the mother’s pouch for a longer period of time. The young Parma leaves the mother for the first time after 30 weeks, but remains close to her for some time.
