The first ever wombat born in the Netherlands this week

Peek-a-boo, we see you! The first wombat Joey (baby) popped out of the pouch to say hallo, and we all know it’s special. 

An Australian wombat was born in the BestZoo in Best, North Brabant, reports NU.nl. And we can’t help but get excited. This is thought to be the first wombat born in a Dutch zoo, to the only wombats in the Netherlands. Schattig! 

A cute surprise

The young wombat made his first appearance from his mom’s pouch on Monday. Unfortunately, we won’t know when to celebrate his birthday. 

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Why is this? The wombat is an Australian marsupial that is heel klein (very small) at birth and stays all nice and cosy in his mother’s pouch for months until he emerges, so the exact date that he was born is not known. 

The proud parents of the new wombat

BestZoo is the only zoo in the Netherlands with wombats. The parents of the new wombat joey arrived at the Dutch zoo from Australia in October 2021.

Australian zoos have many wombats, many of which are rescued when they are young. It was difficult to bring the wombats to their new Dutch home as Australia has strict regulations about animals entering and leaving the country. 

Fortunately for us, the wombat couple arrived smoothly and now have a happy little family.

In a statement, the zoo says that the wombats are doing well and that the youngster often sticks his snout out. 

Some cool facts about wombats

Wombats might look a bit like their Australian relatives, koalas. They do share some similarities. Both are nocturnal marsupials. 

However, a wombat lives on the ground, while koalas live in trees.

Wombats also have some unique characteristics. Their faeces are square-shaped, and their pouches face backwards. 

Quirky right? Wombats love to dig, and this prevents sand from getting all over the growing babies in their pouches. Wat leuk!

Would you visit the zoo to see the new addition to the wombat family? Tell us in the comments!