Rare tiny wallabies Kai and Aru will go on display at Chester Zoo

One of the two rare miniature wallabie set to go on show at Chester Zoo. Credit: PA

Rare miniature wallabies are set to go on show at Chester Zoo.

The two dusky pademelons - a rare breed of wallaby from Indonesia - will make their public debut in the UK after arriving from Plzen Zoo in the Czech Republic.

Keepers hope they will eventually introduce the marsupials, called Kai and Aru, to a female as part of a European-wide breeding programme for threatened animals.

Curator of mammals at Chester Zoo Tim Rowlands said:

The animals, also known as dusky wallabies, are usually found in forests on the island of New Guinea.

Kai and Aru are two of only 33 being cared for by zoos in Europe.

They are listed as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with their population estimated to have declined by 30% in the last 15-20 years.

The demise of the species is largely due to hunting for its meat.