Tree Kangaroo Fostered by Wallaby Mother

We’ve seen plenty of nursing mammals take in orphans of different species, but it’s a totally different story with marsupials. Kangaroos and wallabies are born very underdeveloped, and stay in their mother’s pouch for months while nursing and growing. At the Adelaide Zoo, a Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo died while nursing a joey. Zookeepers transferred the baby to the pouch of a a Yellow-foot rock wallaby, a completely different species. That had never been done before, but the joey, named Makaia, survived and thrived with his surrogate mother. Now he’s an adorable young kangaroo being spoiled and fostered by zoo staff. (via Metafilter)