Baby “firsts” are always cute milestones, from smiles to words and even steps. This same concept can certainly cross over into the animal kingdom, too!
While human babies must crawl before they can even stand let alone walk, when it comes to kangaroo babies, it’s important for them to first experience life outside of mom’s pouch… then they can begin to take their first little hops.
Sadly, though, not all baby kangaroos, or joeys, have a mom to teach them how to get used to walking around on their own. In those instances, it’s up to human caretakers to improvise. Take the rescue workers at the Kangaroo Sanctuary at Alice Springs in Australia. Recently, they decided it was time to let little Bradley take his first steps.
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Since he was orphaned, he’s spent all of his time in the sanctuary’s makeshift pouches.
So naturally, Bradley needed a little convincing to get going…
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Using the pillowcase pouch as a lure, Bradley was coaxed into hopping out to say, “Hello.”
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Look at how small he is!
It was hard not to fall in love with the little guy at first sight (full disclosure: we didn’t even put up a fight).
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It’s very important to get Bradley hopping, but the little guy made it very clear that he wanted to return to the security and comfort of his “pouch.” Who could say no to him, after all?
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The goal is to get Bradley strong enough to be released back into the wild like they’ve done with countless other orphaned babies. However, if he can’t be rehabilitated, he’ll live at the sanctuary in their 188-acre plot of wilderness!
Watch little Bradley’s first hops in the video below – we’re sure there are many more to come! Don’t forget to share with other animal lovers who need a smile today.
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