Red kangaroo (born on June 25, 2013)

Marsupial order Kangarooidae
English name: Red Kangaroo
Scientific name: Macropus rufus
Distribution: Australia

On June 25, 2013, a baby red kangaroo was seen emerging from its mother's pouch. We had noticed a bulge in the mother's pouch around Golden Week, and were concerned because the mother had abandoned the baby many times in the past, but we were relieved to see the baby's healthy face.
　As a marsupial, female kangaroos have a pouch called a nurturing sac in which they raise their young. The gestation period is about one month, and the baby is born in a very immature state, weighing about 1 g, with no hair or eyes open. The baby grows inside the pouch while drinking mother's milk, and emerges from the pouch for the first time around 3 to 5 months after birth.
　The pouch grows larger and larger with each passing day, and the baby's movements can be clearly observed from outside the pouch.
　The baby continued to grow steadily, and from September onward, it emerged from the pouch more often. Now you can see them snuggling with their mothers for naps or jumping around energetically by themselves.

(Keiichi Morita)

Cape Penguin (born September 7-11, 2013)

Penguin family
English name: Cape Penguin
Scientific name: Spheniscus demersus
Distribution: South Africa

Three Cape Penguin chicks hatched one after another between September 7 and 11, 2013.
The parent birds of the Cape penguins have white bellies and black backs, but the chicks are born brown and covered with fluffy feathers called cotton feathers, which are excellent for keeping them warm.
　Immediately after hatching, the chicks were beeping and chirping cheerfully, which gave me some relief, but I could not let up. The newly hatched chicks are very small, weighing around 60 grams, and can fit in one of the staff's hands. Some parent birds are not good at raising chicks and may accidentally step on them. Since parent birds have been stepping on chicks at Adventure World, we decided to raise the newly hatched chicks by human hands.
　Instead of parent birds, the chicks are fed a special liquid diet for penguins made from a mixture of fish paste, cream, krill, and water. A tube is passed directly from the chicks' mouths into their stomachs, and the liquid food is poured into their mouths. After a few days, the chicks begin to get strong and vocalize their desire for food. At around 10 days of age, they began to eat small pieces of herring, and at 2 to 3 months of age, they grew to the same size as their parents and began to eat whole fish such as shishamo.

(Chihiro Kaki)