NEW MUM FOR WILBUR THE WALLABY!

Rare animal adoption takes place at Blackpool Zoo!

Wilbur the Wallaby has found happiness with a new family after his birth mother tragically passed away whilst he was still in the pouch.

He has been ‘adopted’ by another female at Blackpool Zoo, which is an extremely rare occurrence amongst marsupials.

Keepers came to work on June 16th to find Wilbur in the pouch of his mother, who had died during the night. They immediately removed him and the decision was taken to hand-rear him.

Senior mammal keeper Sofie Fawzy took Wilbur, who is a Red-necked Wallaby, home and fed him at three hour intervals for eleven days before the team decided to mix him with other members of the group for interaction.

Another mother and baby were already in a separate area of the Wallaby Walkabout so the orphan was gradually introduced.

Keepers were amazed to see that after just two days Wilbur was feeding from the female and getting on with well with the other joey. The situation was very closely monitored and keepers continued to weigh Wilbur to ensure he was gaining weight at a satisfactory speed.

Wilbur and his new family will remain cordoned off from the rest of the group as they continue to bond, but should be out and about in the Wallaby Walkabout in the coming month.

SofieFawzy said: “This has been the best possible outcome for little Wilbur and we were amazed to see that another mother had taken him on as her own. It is the first time this has ever happened at Blackpool Zoo so it really is a coup for keepers.

“Wallabies are not classed as officially born until they leave the pouch but we estimated that Wilbur was around seven months old when his mother passed away. He should have remained in the pouch for another three to six months so we were sceptical as to whether he would survive.

“We put all our efforts into hand-rearing Wilbur and feeding him every three hours meant it was like having a new born baby in the house.

“At Blackpool Zoo we like to ensure that our hand-reared animals have as much time as possible with their own species so they learn natural behaviours and are able to survive once they are introduced back into the group.

“As we already had a mother and baby in a separate area we thought it would be an ideal opportunity to let him mingle with his own kind and were astounded when he started to feed from her.

“In the coming weeks we will introduce the new family back into Wallaby Walkabout and look forward to seeing them out and about!”

There are currently nine Red-necked wallaby males and 11 females at Blackpool Zoo, with seven of the females currently carrying a joey in the pouch and one caring for a baby that recently came out.

Six red kangaroos can also be found in Wallaby Walkabout, one of which is a joey that left the pouch in February. Blackpool Zoo has a long and successful history of breeding wallabies and kangaroos and it has housed both species since it opened 40 years ago.

Blackpool Zoo is open every day of the year except Christmas Day. Current opening hours are 10.00am until 5.45pm and last admission is 5.00pm. Visitors can save on admission prices by booking online at www.blackpoolzoo.org.uk.  

-Ends-

Notes to editors:

Pictures show: Wilbur with Sophie and Wilbur with is new mum

More information about Blackpool Zoo:

Blackpool Zoo celebrated its 40th anniversary on Friday 6th July 2012. It was in 1972 when 3543 visitors attended the launch, which saw TV’s Johnny Morris ride in front of the Mayor’s car on Tower Circus elephant Katsula.

Blackpool Zoo is owned by Parques Reunidos, the second largest European leisure parks operator and a leading world-wide player. The zoo is home to over 1,500 mammals, birds, reptiles and invertebrates set amidst thirty-two acres of mature woodland and lakes. 

The zoo’s signature animals include elephants, giraffes, big cats, gorillas, orang-utans, sea lions, primates, zebras and kangaroos. It is open every day of the year, apart from Christmas Day, from 10am.

For further information please contact:

Paula Holden, Julie Hackett or Denise Dawson at ICG on 01772 679383 or email paula@icgonline.co.ukjulie@icgonline.co.uk or denise@icgonline.co.uk

Out of office hours contact: Paula Holden on 07772268378

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