Adelaide Zoo reveals surprise arrival: A baby Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat

SOUTHERN hairy-nosed wombats are not supposed to be able to produce young until the age of three. But two-year-old Kibber arrived in Adelaide bearing this delightful surprise.

Adelaide Zoo's baby girl Southern Hairy-nosed wombat is out to meet the public. Picture: Adrian Mann/Zoos SA

• More wombat news:

• Gorge Wildlife Park reveals new joey
• Escapee wombats found after two days on the run in Adelaide Hills
• No more wombats trapped underground after mass burial

THIS surprise package was a stowaway when mum Kibber came to Adelaide from Taronga Zoo.

Zoos SA senior keeper of native mammals, Lucy Catt, said pregnancy was not even considered until the young mum started to show.

“We were monitoring her weight gain, then we found she had a baby on board,” she said.

“So it’s a very nice surprise and it does change the information everyone knows on wombats, it is new for the species.”

Southern hairy-nosed wombats are not considered capable of reproduction until the age of three in the wild, or three and a half in captivity said Ms Catt, who studied wombats for her honours thesis.

The nine-month-old wombat needs a name, and readers can send suggestions to Zoos SA. Picture: Adrian Mann/Zoos SA

Kibber is just two years and eight months old, with a nine-month-old 3kg-baby daughter already emerging from the pouch.

The unusual case of possibly the world’s youngest wombat mum will now be thoroughly investigated and documented in collaboration with University of Adelaide wombat expert Dr David Taggart, formerly principal scientist at Zoos SA from 2001-11.

“She had health check before she left Taronga and wasn’t thought able to reproduce,” Ms Catt said.

“We were keeping an eye on her and she was looking quite filled in the pouch area and then, looking at the timing, we were going ‘surely she can’t be carrying young, it’s not even possible’ but … we were able to have a feel of her and able to feel movement there, so that confirmed the pregnancy.”

The as yet unnamed baby girl is “beautiful” and gets along really well with mum, who is still playful and known to run around the exhibit and roll on her back.

Readers can submit name suggestions at zoossa.com.au to win a family pass to Adelaide Zoo.