Dudley zookeeper becomes surrogate mother for baby wallaby after mum dies while still nursing him
A baby wallaby at Dudley Zoo is 'doing well' after his mum died while she was still nursing the young joey in her pouch.
Senior Keeper Laura Robbins has had to step in as a surrogate mother to provide round-the-clock care for four-month-old Barney.
At his current age, he’d still be spending lots of time in his mum’s pouch, so zookeepers are trying to replicate that behaviour with a rucksack, which they hang up and he hops in and out of.
Barney has four feeds a day and spends much of his day in the zoo's offices and at Laura’s home.
He'll soon be weaned onto solid food like hay and dandelions.
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