New arrival ensures '˜hoppy' Easter at zoo

A baby kangaroo stole the thunder of the Easter bunny with its arrival at Belfast Zoo this week.
By The Newsroom
Published 21st Apr 2017, 17:24 BST
Updated 9th May 2017, 18:46 BST
Keepers referred to her as wee spud. Sweet potatoes are the tree kangaroos' favourite food & she was named Kau Kau (Papua New Guinea word for sweet potato).Keepers referred to her as wee spud. Sweet potatoes are the tree kangaroos' favourite food & she was named Kau Kau (Papua New Guinea word for sweet potato).
Keepers referred to her as wee spud. Sweet potatoes are the tree kangaroos' favourite food & she was named Kau Kau (Papua New Guinea word for sweet potato).

Kau Kau – a Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo – ‘hopped’ from her mother’s pouch just in time to greet the Easter crowds.

She was born to mother Jaya and father Hasu Hasu last summer but the joey has only recently ventured from her pouch to explore her surroundings.

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Zoo curator Andrew Hope said: “When the joey is first born it is the size of a jelly bean and remains in the pouch for eight to ten months so Belfast Zoo staff were unable to determine the sex of the joey immediately. When we started to see the joey peak out of her pouch, we began to affectionately refer to her as ‘wee spud’.

“We named her Kau Kau, a Papua New Guinea word for ‘sweet potato’ which happens to be our tree kangaroo’s favourite food.”