A little head peeping from the pouch of Molly the wombat has just been caught on camera at Budapest Zoo. Zookeepers think that the newcomer could be around six months old, as it has not yet left its mum’s pouch, but its increasing interest in the outside world causes its head to pop out for an occasional sneak peek. As wombats have backward-facing pouches, when the little baby looks out, its head appears between its mum’s legs. The video also shows that Molly is very protective, even chasing away the dad if he comes too close.
The gestation period for wombats is only about a month, so when babies are born they are not fully developed, but keep growing in their mother’s pouch for another six months. They then take their first look at the world, before venturing outside the pouch after a few more weeks. Zookeepers think that the public will be able to visit the baby wombat from March.
