Last March, the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago got their first look at an adorable wombat joey, and now the baby is big enough to explore her surroundings. Born August 8, 2018, the joey is the seventh for mother Kambora, an 18-year-old southern hairy-nosed wombat. Take a look at her as she settles into her new home, and see more cute pictures and wombat facts at the Brookfield Zoo website.
At birth the joey is about the size of a bumblebee. I had no idea. 😮
No more did I! Golly!
Marsupials basically give birth to partially developed fetuses. The pouch functions as a secondary womb until baby is fully formed. If this seems sub-optimal, that’s because it is: this is the reason placental mammals have a tendency to out-compete marsupials that occupy the same niche. Marsupials first evolved in North America, but only remained dominant in Australia because that was the landmass that split off from Pangaea before placentals evolved.
Planning a trip to Chicago now!