Watch: Endangered baby kangaroo emerges from pouch for first time

Footage has shown the moment an endangered baby kangaroo emerged from its mum’s pouch for the first time after being born at a British zoo.

The rare Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo joey is the first to ever be born at Chester Zoo during its 91 year history.

It was welcomed into the world by mum Kitawa and dad Kayjo in July last year and has been developing in its mother’s pouch ever since.

Conservationists have now captured the moment the adorable joey popped out of Kitawa’s pouch for the first time for a peek at its new surroundings.

The birth has been hailed as a ‘real celebration’ for the conservation breeding programme working to protect the highly threatened species from extinction.

Chester Zoo is one of only two zoos in the UK currently caring for the kangaroos, which are native to Papua New Guinea.

Keepers used a special endoscope camera carefully placed into Kitawa’s pouch every few weeks to document the growth of the baby.

Experts say the data collected could help tree kangaroos, as well as other similar threatened species in South Asia, and their plight in the wild.

David White, team manager at the zoo, said:”Kitawa’s joey is the first Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo to ever be born at Chester Zoo in its 91 year-long history, so it’s a real celebratory moment for the team and our efforts to protect this highly endangered species.

“Tree kangaroos have one of the most complex birthing processes in the animal kingdom.

“When a joey is first born it’s only the size of a jellybean and is incredibly underdeveloped.

“Moments after the birth, with eyes still tightly closed, the joey knows to instinctively crawl up mum’s belly and into her pouch – following a channel which she has marked out by licking her fur.

“Once safely in the pouch, the baby receives all of the nutrition it needs while it grows and develops for a further six months – up until it starts to pop its head out.

“The new baby will soon emerge from the pouch fully and begin hopping around and learning to climb trees, under the watchful eye of mum.

“That’s when we’ll be able to determine if it’s male or female and give the youngster a fitting name.”

Much smaller than the well-known Australian kangaroo, the Goodfellow’s is a tree-dwelling marsupial, using their strong limbs for climbing and tails for balance.

The species is native to the mountainous rainforests of Papua New Guinea where they are under threat from hunting and habitat destruction – losing more than half of its population in the last 30 years.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the species as endangered in the wild.

Mr White added: “These remarkable animals have suffered tremendously in the wild.

“They are hunted for their meat and their habitat is disappearing around them as forests are cleared for timber and to make way for coffee and rice plantations.

“Zoo conservationists are working with our partners and local communities in areas of South East Asia to make sustainable farming practices the norm, helping to prevent further deforestation across the region while protecting what’s left of the precious forests – home to many of the world’s most threatened species, like the Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo.”