DECIN, Czech Republic—Czech zoo welcomed the arrival of an albino wallaby baby and raised hopes that it will become the zoo’s new star attraction.
Staff and visitors to Decin Zoo were devastated when their best-known resident Sigfried the grizzly bear died last year and now hope the baby wallaby’s striking white fur and red eyes will draw visitors.
Decin Zoo spokeswoman Alena Houskova said the arrival of the wallaby has already delighted staff members since it is the first albino wallaby the zoo has had in its history.
“We have five red-necked wallabies—we had one male and two females which have both just delivered their joeys (baby wallabies). One of them had a white albino joey. We are really glad as this is a first for the zoo,” said Houskova.
She also added that the joey’s mother is believed to be carrying two other babies.
Wallabies can have three joeys at a time, each at different stages of development, as they have the ability to suspend pregnancies and wait until their first baby has left their pouch.
“We can already see the white one, another hasn’t emerged from the pouch and is still suckling and the third is still developing in the womb,” Houskova said.
Although albino wallabies are not rare, they would struggle to survive in the wild due to their sensitive skin and eyes but would be expected to thrive in a contained environment such as the zoo.
photos from today:
An albino red-necked wallaby joey and its mother at the zoo in Decin, Czech Republic.
(David W Cerny/Reuters) pic.twitter.com/LZbgrVrPjd
— Colin Campbell (@colincampbell) March 13, 2019