Inside the Pouch of a Newly Born Tree Kangaroo

The post Inside the Pouch of a Newly Born Tree Kangaroo appeared first on A-Z Animals.

Quick Take

• The UK’s Chester Zoo welcomed a new Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo baby recently.

• The Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo species is listed as endangered by the IUCN.

• To monitor the baby’s growth in the pouch, zookeepers used endoscopic “pouch-cams.”

• The baby tree kangaroo is the Zoo’s second and marks a significant milestone for the endangered species.

When you think of kangaroos, you usually imagine the six-foot-tall kind, hopping across wide open spaces throughout Australia. After all, it is this version of the marsupial that nature series and movies tend to showcase.

You probably don’t imagine these large marsupials hanging out in the treetops. While terrestrial kangaroos can leap to great heights, they aren’t built for climbing due to their size. You’d be right—at least when it comes to ground-dwelling kangaroo species.

But those aren’t the only kangaroos around. There’s another kind of kangaroo whose specialty is living in trees. There are actually 14 tree-kangaroo species built specifically for moving around high above the rainforest floors. These arboreal dwellers are found in New Guinea and the far northeast of Queensland, Australia.

One of these arboreal marsupials is the Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo. Like many other tree kangaroo species, Goodfellow’s are considered endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This endangered status is why the recent birth of a Goodfellow’s joey at a UK zoo is cause for celebration.

Meet Chester Zoo’s Newest Tree Kangaroo Addition

The Chester Zoo, located just south of Liverpool, England, is not just a zoo but also an international conservation charity. It is a globally recognized center of excellence for scientific research and conservation. The Zoo takes part in 139 international conservation breeding programs, one of which is for the Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo.

The recent birth of the tiny male Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo to parents Kitawa (mom) and Kayjo (dad) marks the second Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo birth at the Zoo. Both pregnancies were part of the Zoo’s collaborative conservation breeding program designed to help rebuild populations of one of the world’s most threatened marsupials.

Zookeepers, using hormone analysis, pinpointed the best time for Kitawa and Kayjo to mate. Zookeepers conducted their work in the Zoo’s on-site science center—the only one of its kind at any European zoo. The planning was effective, and Kitawa gave birth to a male joey in the fall of 2025. Born weighing just a few grams, the tiny newborn quickly made its way into mom’s pouch, where it would spend the next several months growing.

Newborn kangaroos instinctively find their way to the pouch by following a trail of saliva that the mother licks into place immediately after birth. This path leads directly to the pouch, and the tiny newborns use their forelimbs to climb along the mother’s fur.

Under normal circumstances, zookeepers wouldn’t catch a glimpse of the joey until it emerged months later. Given the significance of the birth, zookeepers took a unique approach to safeguarding the little joey’s early months of life. They used a series of tiny “pouch-cams” to monitor the joey’s development.

By inserting endoscopic cameras into the pouch, conservationists were able to monitor the joey’s growth as he developed. The insights gained through this innovative approach gave conservationists a better understanding of the rarely-studied species. The information will also help shape breeding programs around the world.

“Tree kangaroos don’t breed quickly—a joey is a huge energy investment for the mother. That’s why this birth is such a significant moment,” says David White, Team Manager of Twilight at Chester Zoo, in a news release. “It’s taken a huge amount of work from keepers, vets, and scientists, all collaborating to support the joey’s safe arrival. Everything we’ve learned is helping to protect this remarkable species.”

The still-unnamed joey weighed in at 4.1 pounds in mid-January. Visitors to the Zoo’s Island Zone may catch a glimpse of the joey peeking out from mom’s pouch. The Zoo plans to name the joey soon, choosing a name inspired by the communities in Papua New Guinea that are actively working to protect the endangered species’ forest homes.

It Wasn’t the First Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo Birth at the Zoo

The most recent Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo birth was the second such occurrence in the past few years. The first tree kangaroo baby arrived in July 2022 and marked the Zoo’s inaugural breeding program for the endangered marsupial.

Parents of the first tree kangaroo baby were also mom Kitawa and dad Kayjo. That joey spent six months in its mother’s pouch before eventually popping its head out to explore life outside. It took a few more months for the joey to fully emerge and begin life as a young tree kangaroo. Its daily lessons included refining its hopping skills and learning to climb trees—an essential skill for any tree kangaroo. Just as with this second tree kangaroo birth, scientists used endoscopic cameras to monitor the first joey’s in-pouch development.

Learn More About the Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo

Goodfellow’s tree kangaroos are one of 14 tree kangaroo species found throughout the tropical forests and rainforests of north Queensland and New Guinea. Much smaller than their terrestrial cousins, tree kangaroos have smaller hind legs adapted to climbing. These adapted hind legs make them clumsy when hopping on the ground.

They also have very sharp claws and long, patterned tails to help them climb and leap great distances between trees. They can leap up to 30 feet between trees in the treetops, where they spend most of their lives sleeping on branches and foraging for leaves and other plants. When they do need to come down to the ground, they can also successfully make vertical jumps of up to 60 feet and land safely.

They have reddish-brown fur highlighted by gold stripes and spots. Adults weigh between 13 and 20 pounds and are about 21 to 30 inches long. One unique feature of the Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo is its ability to move its hind feet independently. Other tree kangaroo species share this skill, but terrestrial kangaroos do not.

Why Are Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo Numbers in Decline?

Most tree kangaroo species, including Goodfellow’s, face ongoing habitat loss due to logging, agricultural expansion for palm oil plantations, and hunting for their meat and fur.

These threats have a dramatic negative impact on tree kangaroo populations in both New Guinea and Queensland. A ban on traditional hunting and increased habitat protection in Queensland, Australia, have helped stabilize tree kangaroo populations there. Unfortunately, in New Guinea, deforestation continues unabated, leading to significant habitat loss for all 12 tree kangaroo species that live there, including Goodfellow’s.

More About Tree Kangaroo Conservation Efforts

Although Goodfellow’s tree kangaroos are only found in a small corner of the world, global conservation efforts are ongoing to protect this unique species. Coordinated breeding programs like the one at Chester Zoo help to build the population of captive tree kangaroos. In fact, Goodfellow’s tree kangaroos are one of only a few New Guinea tree kangaroo species that are part of an international breeding program. These programs help raise awareness and serve as insurance against extinction.

There are other ways for the general public to help with conservation efforts, too. You can reduce the impact of deforestation by buying only certified sustainable FSC wood and paper products. FSC certification ensures that the wood is ethically sourced from responsibly managed forests, rather than from clear-cutting that contributes to deforestation. You can also choose RSPO-certified palm oil, which is produced according to standards set by the global Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Certification means that the oil was produced without causing deforestation.

The post Inside the Pouch of a Newly Born Tree Kangaroo appeared first on A-Z Animals.