大象传媒

The wallaby that sleeps in a pillowcase

  • Published
Tui the Wallaby being fed in pillowcaseImage source, Blackpool Zoo

A suspended pillowcase used to mimic a Mum's pouch, is being used to raise an orphaned baby Wallaby.

Tui, whose Mum died when he was a few weeks old, is being looked after by a specialist team at Blackpool Zoo.

They feed him milk from a bottle five times a day and he jumps into the pillowcase to sleep.

To make sure he's okay, Keeper Adam Kenyon takes him home with him every evening.

He said: "We use all the latest techniques when hand-rearing animals and encouraging joeys to sleep in suspended pillowcases gives them the same secure feeling that they would get in their mother's pouch.

"Tui is a real character and he follows me around the Wallaby Walkabout whilst I get on with my duties, which is really sweet."

When Tui gets older, the team will settle him back into sleeping in the zoo enclosure with other wallabies and kangaroos.