5-month-old wallaby joey who left its mother’s pouch goes missing from Michigan zoo

DETROIT, Mich. – A 5-month-old wallaby joey went missing from its enclosure at a Michigan zoo on Sunday, WDIV reported.

Detroit Zoo said in a Facebook post that the joey was last seen by animal care staff around 5 p.m. Saturday and was discovered missing from the zoo’s Australian Outback Adventure habitat early Monday.

The joey was estimated to be 5-6 months old and had just recently left its mother’s pouch last week.

“We are heartbroken to update you that the 5-month-old wallaby joey whose story we shared on Friday is missing. The joey was last seen by animal care staff around 5 p.m. Saturday and was discovered missing from the Australian Outback Adventure habitat early this morning,” the post said.

Animal care staff at the zoo were carefully examining the wallaby’s habitat and areas around it, along with viewing surveillance video from the same night the joey disappeared, according to Zoo officials on Facebook.

Zoo officials say the joey is unlikely to survive an extended period of time away from its mother.

“We are reviewing every potential scenario and remain hopeful this joey will be found unharmed,” the post said.