A charming new addition to Healesville Sanctuary needs your help!
The playful, eight-month-old Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo joey needs a name and zookeepers are calling on Victorians to choose the perfect one.
The little joey, who has a striking resemblance to its mother Mani [pron: MAH-nee], has three shortlisted names with deep ties back to his native Papua New Guinea and will reflect the cultural and environmental richness of the region.
The names include:
Murua [pron: Moo-roo-wa] a district from Milne Bay Provence
Mungili [pron: Moon-gi-lee] meaning precious or beautiful
Mongo [pron: Mon-go] referring to seeds from trees.
Healesville Sanctuary mammal keeper Katherine Sarris said the now eight-month-old is growing in confidence each week.
“If you pop past the Tree Kangaroo habitat, you’ll likely see just a paw holding onto the side of Mani’s pouch. By 10-months-old the youngster should be out on its own most of the time,” Ms Sarris said.
“He’s getting so big, he’s almost too big to hitch a ride in mum Mani’s pouch, so she’s started trying to gently push him away; however, he’s persistent and often managed to slip back into her pouch.”
Zoo members can cast their vote at zoo.org.au/tree-kangaroo-joey
The joey’s name will be roo-vealed on 30 January.
For updates, keep an eye on Zoos Victoria’s website and social channels – zoo.org.au and @zoosvictoria.
Healesville Sanctuary is part of an international breeding program to save the endangered species from extinction.
Female Mani and male Bagam [pron: Bag-am] have been a successful breeding pair for many years now.
Their previous offspring include Chimbu, Kofi and Ori. [Pron: Chim-boo, Co-fee, Or-ree]
Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroos are listed as Endangered with a decreasing population on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list.
Threats to the survival of this species in the wild include loss of habitat and hunting.
Two species of Tree Kangaroos are native to Australia. The Bennett’s tree-kangaroo and the Lumholtz’s tree kangaroo.
Both species are found in Far North Queensland.
Zoos Victoria is supporting Tree Kangaroos in the wild through its Coffee for Wildlife community conservation campaign in partnership with Genovese.
Coffee for Wildlife is sustainably sourced shade-grown coffee, and every bag sold supports projects that empower people to live in harmony with forests and wildlife.
For more information visit zoo.org.au/coffee
