A lot of Australian animals carry their babies in their pouch. Kangaroos are probably the most common and well known but a variety of other animals also have pouches where they carry their young.
These pouches provide somewhat of a safeguard to the dangers of the outside world, as well as providing the warmth they need and a food source (the nipples). Since the young live in the pouches for up to a year and from a very small size it is not uncommon to come across them in the pouch of a deceased mother.
I try and stop to check any fresh female roadkill for pouch babies as the young can survive inside the pouch still for up to a day even if the mother is dead.(depending on conditions, age etc.) We found this poor thing a few hundred km from Broome on the side of the road. I spotted her because there were 3 other small wallabies standing around her.
We pulled over to move her body further from the road and try and prevent the three others that seemed to be inspecting/mourning the body.
As we got closer we noticed the pouch. Generally when they have no baby you can't even see the pouch, it's well camouflaged into their stomach. However when they have a baby it often opens up and becomes more pronounced and easier to see. If you see a large open looking pouch there is a good chance it contains or did contain a baby.
I opened up the pouch and inside was this tiny little baby, already dead.
It's sad because they often survive the impact of a car and can be saved if found in time but very few people stop to check roadkill. This little one was probably only a few months old and may not of survived even if it got into care but it would of had a shot.
What to do if there is a baby alive.
If you ever do a pouch check and find a baby alive you have to be very careful to get it out without hurting it. Most pouch babies have a very small tooth that they use to hook onto the mothers nipple and feed, if this tooth breaks they are unable to feed and will die. If the baby is attached to the nipple you can very gently take them in your hand and try and pull them away from it, if you feel resistance stop.
If they wont release the nipple you will have to cut it off with a pair of scissors(yay). Try and cut as much of the nipple as possible so the baby has a large section, otherwise if you have a safety pin it is best to put a safety pin through the detached nipple to prevent the baby swallowing it and suffocating.
One of my mums wallabies and her baby who recently left the pouch
Next thing to do is keep it warm. Inside the pouch is a stable body temperature that keeps the generally hairless babies warm. If you can wrap it gently in a jumper or towel and then try and place it against your body for heat is ideal, they just need to be warm.
Don't worry about feeding as they need a specialised mix, just try and get them to a wildlife carer or vet as soon as possible.
Most of the orphaned kangaroos my mum gets in are found in the pouches of roadkill and still have the chance to live a long and happy life, all it takes is someone to take 5 minutes out of their day to check.
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Hey @Bigdizzle91 Great to see you still posting here on HIVE. Bummer the baby didnt make it... but good on you for trying to save it!
well hey there. Yea I been fairly sporadic with it but still around haha, need to drop into PAL more often but living on the road now and connections few and far between.
amazing post
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We appreciate your work and your post has been manually curated by zoology team (oscurity,nelinoeva) on behalf of Amazing Nature Community. Keep up the good work!