A tiny brush-tailed bettong joey is being hand-reared by keepers at Longleat in a first for the Wiltshire estate.
The female joey, who has not yet been named, is thought to be around 90–100 days old and weighs just 135 grams. The species is currently listed as near threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
As a marsupial, brush-tailed bettongs are born after just 12 days of gestation before spending around 90–98 days developing inside their mother’s pouch. However, this joey was rejected earlier than usual, meaning keepers had to step in.
Animal Adventure Lead Keeper Gemma Short has been caring for the joey around the clock, providing feeds every four hours with puppy milk while gradually introducing solid foods.
Gemma said:
“Our joey was sadly rejected by mum, so we’ve had to step in and continue their care. It is always a last resort to hand-rear, but we had no choice.
“This has meant feeds every four hours with puppy milk, but we’re starting to introduce solid foods as well.
“We’re so pleased the joey is doing well and putting on weight steadily.
“This is a huge milestone here at the park as it is our first bettong joey and we’re pleased to announce that it is a girl, making her vitally important to the breeding programme, especially as until recently, brush-tailed bettongs were classified as critically endangered.”
The estate’s bettongs live in Koala Creek, where visitors can see them hopping along the habitat floor. Mostly nocturnal, the species are known as ‘ecosystem engineers’ because their digging helps turn over topsoil, improving nutrient cycling, water flow and aeration.
While the joey will not be visible to guests during the hand-rearing process, visitors can still see the park’s pair of bettongs at Koala Creek during half term.
