Abandoned Joey Finds 'Hoppy' Ending

What would you do if you found a baby kangaroo? If you're Christina Cooper, you'd turn your sweatshirt into a pouch, pick up the joey and step in as surrogate mom. Cooper is co-owner of the nonprofit Global Wildlife Center, a 900-acre preserve near New Orleans with nearly 4,000 animals. Cooper spoke with Paw Nation about raising "Skippy."

Skippy is a great name. How did you come up with it?
"Skippy the Bush Kangaroo" was actually a hugely popular children's television program in the 1960s in Australia. [The character] had all sorts of adventures and always saved the day. I took one look at him and knew he had to be "Skippy."

How did you find him?
At the Global Wildlife Center we have kangaroos in an area we call "Walkabout." We don't know if he fell out of his mother's pouch or if she prematurely expelled him, but he was lying on his side on the ground in the enclosure. We waited to see if any of the kangaroos nearby came to claim him before we picked him up.

How long was he supposed to stay in the pouch?
Red kangaroos are amazing creatures. They're born after a 39-day gestation period, and are about the size of jelly bean. They stay in their mother's pouch and develop for the next eight to 10 months. When we found Skippy in May 2009 he weighed about a pound, and we believe he was about 3 months old.


Is this the first time you've had to take care of a joey?
At our center we're very hands-off. We like to let the mothers raise their own offspring. In Skippy's case, that wasn't going to be possible. I ran inside, got a sweatshirt, popped him in and used the arms to tie it around myself.

That took care of warmth, but what do you feed a baby kangaroo?
There's actually a replacement milk you can get called "wombaroo." In Australia, adult kangaroos often get hit by cars, and the joeys will be found, still inside the pouch. I was fortunate enough to get in touch with an Australian expert named Lynda Staker, who has raised thousands of kangaroos. She's given us terrific advice, and even sent me a special hammock for Skippy to sleep in at night in my room.

Is he hopping?
He follows me everywhere. Right now he's jumping only about a foot high, but soon he'll be going up and down the stairs and jumping on the bed.

Do you intend to keep him as a pet or return him to the wildlife center's regular habitat?
He's very much interested in the rest of the kangaroos. We spend at least an hour per day with them, and there's no sign of aggression toward Skippy, which is good news. Over the next six months, Skippy will be weaned, and he'll be ready to be reintroduced our kangaroo community.

How hard will it be for you to give him up?
It' going to be tough. He's very special. I know we'll always have a special bond, so that makes it a little easier. Linda has raised joeys to adulthood and reintroduced them to the wild. She says Skippy will go and be a kangaroo, but he'll always want to give hugs and kisses.

Tags: australia, joeys, kangaroo, skippy