DETROIT — A 5-month-old wallaby discovered missing from the Detroit Zoo may be too young to survive without its mother, according to facility officials who pleaded Sunday for the joey’s return.
“The joey is just beginning the process of independence by spending time outside the pouch, but still nursing and spending time in the pouch,” zoo officials explained in a Facebook post.
“It is unlikely that the young wallaby can survive an extended amount of time away from the mother. We are reviewing every potential scenario and remain hopeful this joey will be found unharmed,” the post continued.
According to MLive.com, the joey was last seen by animal care staff at around 5 p.m. local time Saturday but vanished from the Australian Outback Adventure habitat before staff made their rounds early Sunday morning.
The zoo announced its newest addition just two days before the marsupial disappeared.
Sprocket, the zoo’s 4-year-old red-necked wallaby, is the joey’s mother, and he is her first offspring. Eloise and her 2-year-old joey, Bucky, are the exhibit’s only other wallabies in the habitat, MLive.com reported.
Both surveillance and trail cameras are being reviewed, zoo officials stated.
According to MLive.com, red-necked wallabies have reddish-brown or gray coats with dark muzzles, paws and feet, and they can jump more than five feet at a time.