A New Life at Parco Pallavicino: A Bennett’s Wallaby Joey Is Born

Parco Pallavicino welcomes a new and adorable resident: a Bennett’s wallaby joey has been born, one of the most fascinating wallaby species in the animal kingdom. With this new arrival, the park’s kangaroo family now numbers seven individuals: five adults and two joeys.

 

The birth of a kangaroo is an extraordinary event, not only because of the joy it brings to visitors. These animals have a very short gestation period of just 28–30 days, after which a highly underdeveloped joey is born.

 

To survive and continue growing, the tiny newborn climbs into its mother’s pouch using its forelimbs, which are more developed than the rest of its body—an evolutionary adaptation specifically designed for this task. Inside the pouch, the joey spends the following months feeding and completing its development until, around six months after birth, it begins to explore the outside world.

 

This is exactly the stage currently taking place at Parco Pallavicino: the young joey has started venturing out of the pouch for its first timid explorations, only to hop straight back inside in search of its mother’s warmth and protection.

 

As is tradition, Parco Pallavicino involved its social media followers through its monthly feature, inviting them to suggest a name for the new arrival. The community responded enthusiastically, submitting more than 230 suggestions in a very short time.

 

The team selected the three most original and popular names—Boing, Hopper, and Jumpy—and then announced the winning choice.

So, a warm welcome to Hopper!