Orphaned tree kangaroo finds a new mum in a wallaby

 By 
Jenni Ryall
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

This is Makaia. He is an Australian tree kangaroo -- yep, a kangaroo that lives in a tree -- that lost his mother at just five weeks old.

With fears of Makaia not surviving alone, the staff at Adelaide Zoo decided to undertake a world first experiment. The zoo found a yellow-footed rock-wallaby to become his surrogate mum -- never before attempted with a different species -- using a technique known as "cross-fostering." This means the baby kangaroo was popped into the wallaby's pouch.

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