Orphaned Wallaroo At Oakland Zoo Gets Round-The-Clock Care
OAKLAND (CBS SF) – After the death of a female wallaroo named Maloo at the Oakland Zoo, zookeepers are providing its orphaned 5-month-old joey with round-the-clock nurturing and care until it can join the other wallaroos in the zoo's Wild Australia exhibit in late spring or early summer.
The baby wallaroo, a marsupial, is being bottle-fed seven times per day with a specialized baby formula from Australia known as "wombaroo". Zookeepers are also giving it water twice per day since it would normally be hydrated by staying inside its mother's pouch.
The joey is also getting outside for sun twice per day while zookeepers monitor its growth.
Zoo officials said the joey is doing very well, but this sort of "hands-on infant care" will need to continue for roughly three months.
Maloo died of an infection at the age of 3. She was a first-time mother, according to zookeepers.
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