In a groundbreaking achievement for wildlife conservation in India, Nandankanan Zoological Park has welcomed its first-ever Parma wallaby joey, marking a successful breeding milestone for the species at the facility.
The tiny newcomer was confirmed today by vigilant animal care staff who spotted it “head poking” from its mother’s pouch—a key developmental sign that typically occurs four to five months post-birth.
The Parma wallaby (Macropus parma), a small marsupial native to eastern Australia, has been part of Nandankanan’s collection in the past, with the park maintaining individuals from April 1973 to April 1976. However, no births were recorded during that period, making this event a historic first.
The parent pair—a male and female—were acquired from John & Grooves Farm in Hyderabad in December 2023 and have been carefully socialised since August 2025 to encourage natural behaviours and bonding.
Parma wallabies have a remarkably short gestation period of about 35 days. Following birth, the underdeveloped joey instinctively crawls from the birth canal into its mother’s pouch, where it latches onto a teat for nourishment. Inside the pouch, the joey receives essential support for suckling and thermoregulation, continuing its growth in a protected environment. The joey will remain dependent on its mother for warmth and care, not fully weaning until around 10 months of age.
This joyful addition boosts the park’s Parma wallaby population to three individuals (one male, one female, and one joey), symbolised as 1:1:1 in zoo records. To ensure the well-being of both mother and offspring, the pair is under round-the-clock monitoring via CCTV in Enclosure No. 37G.
Nandankanan Zoological Park, renowned for its biodiversity initiatives and home to over 3,000 animals across 166 species, continues to play a vital role in ex-situ breeding programs.
