When I arrived in the nursery this morning to “walla-babysit,” Don & Tom were having a snack (carrots, apples, kale.) I put on a smock and sat down on the floor to wait patiently for them to finish and notice the inviting pouch on my lap! It took about two minutes for them to hop over to me. Tom jumped into the pouch head first and rolled out of it and down my legs. He must have enjoyed that, because he did it a few more times before he got settled. Don, just like last week, wanted to snuggle and give me kisses. If I stopped petting him, he would nudge my hand with his nose until I gave him more attention.
Don & Tom are 8-month-old, male wallabies. They have the same father but different mothers, so they are half brothers. If you look closely, you can see that Tom’s face is lighter than Don’s. That’s how we tell them apart. Don is Dark.
The highlight of my “shift” today was when nursery keeper Rhonda Preston, who spends lots of time with the boys, joined us to give them a bottle. I could try to describe that heartwarming scene, but I’ll let this photo tell the story!
