Swamp Wallaby

Female kangaroos can have up to three joeys at the same time: one that has already left the pouch, one still growing in the pouch and an embryo in the uterus. The presence of a joey in the pouch renders the embryo in the womb dormant, which will only start to develop once the joey is weaned. Hence, like all other species of kangaroo, the swamp wallaby has a high reproductive rate.

After a gestation period of about 33 days, the female gives birth to an undeveloped offspring – the size of a gummy bear and weighing less than one gram. Born deaf, blind and hairless, the tiny joey relies on its sense of smell and sense of gravity to fi nd its way to one of the teats in its mother pouch. There it will continue to develop for the next eight months until it is ready to hop out for good.

The swamp wallaby’s diet comprises primarily of leaves, grasses and bark. They can also eat plants which are poisonous to many other animals such as bracken fern and hemlock.