How does a joey grow inside a kangaroo’s pouch? Would you like to see the process?
Animal EDventure Park is a sanctuary based in Boynton Beach, Florida that rescues and adopts most of its animals.
Some of the animals they take care of are kangaroos.
This time, the park wanted to show its followers the growth and development process of a joey.
Would you like to see it?
First things first, a baby kangaroo is called a joey.
According to Discover Wildlife, joeys are underdeveloped when they are born.
They are born blind, deaf, and have no limbs or hair.
They stay in the birth canal until they are ready to move up to the pouch.
Their birth process is unlike any other mammal.
You literally get to see how a joey develops inside the birth canal and the pouch.
Kangaroos give birth to joeys that are as small as honeybees.
They are about 1.5 inches long and weigh less than a gram.
They do have claws in their front feet to find their way towards the pouch.
When the joey is inside the mother’s pouch, it suckles and feeds for about two months.
It doesn’t leave the pouch until it is anywhere from six to eleven months.
They will go out to fend for themself.
Joeys will continue to go back though for their mother’s milk.
Red kangaroos leave at eight months but will continue to suckle for three to four months.
Grey kangaroos leave at 11 months but will continue to suckle until 18 months.
It’s such an exciting moment to discover when joeys have grown limbs already.
That’s when you know the rest is going to follow shortly.
Their limbs will grow longer.
They will grow hair.
Their eyes begin to form so they can finally see.
Before they know it, the embryo has grown into a joey.
The joey is large enough to peek outside of the pouch and even get out of the pouch.
They will spend more and more time away from the pouch.
However, they do return when they want to feed on their mother’s milk, to sleep, or when they sense danger.
Here’s a fun fact about kangaroos.
“Female kangaroos are able to suckle two joeys simultaneously – one in the pouch and one outside, offering two different types of milk, as well as having an egg ready for implantation,” Features Editor Sarah McPherson wrote for Discover Wildlife.
At first, when you see the embryo joey, it looks super weird.
We never see this type of birth process in mammal species, especially humans.
Then it becomes fascinating and we want to know more.
We want to see how this undeveloped baby grows from an active joey to a fully mature kangaroo.
The animal world is so marvelous and fascinating.
Don’t you think so?
Would you like to see how a kangaroo goes from embryo to a fully developed joey? Watch the video below.
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