I was called last night that a Pademelon joey had been brought in from an Aboriginal settlement, this is not unusual as indigenous people in Australia can hunt their native food. This is as it should be, and we are very grateful that some choose to bring joey's in to be reared and released.
This little lady is just 320 gram, and she seems to be in very good condition, she is of course stressed by being orphaned and handled, so for the next few days she will be handled as little as possible whilst she observe us from a distance able to hide away if she feels the need.
She will join other pademelon's and wallabies in the nursery pen as soon as she is settled, which should be in about 4-5 days.
Her stage of development means she would just have started to hop out of mums pouch for short hops around mum, learning to control her long legs and gain confidence out of the pouch. Rarely will a joey this size venture far from the security of mum as it is still totally dependant on mum for survival.
We will keep you up to date as she grows.
Just 5 weeks after being orphaned this little lady is spending time out of her pouch, interacting with other wallabies and pademelon's in care.
Another little orphaned male Pademelon slightly older than her came in only 1 week after her and they are best mates. In fact as soon as they were placed next to each other in separate pouches, they decided to share one pouch keeping each other company.
