Me and My Mom - Scene 13

Wombat and Joey

At birth, the baby wombat, called a joey, is extremely small and undeveloped. It will weigh approximately 2 grams, less than one-tenth of an ounce, and be about the size of a jelly bean, 2 cm (0.75 inches) long. The joey is hairless with very thin skin and is unable to keep itself warm. They're blind and their ears do not function, but they have a large mouth and tongue, and a well-developed sense of smell. As soon as it is born, the baby wombat will crawl into its mother's pouch and attach itself to one of the mother's teats. The teat will swell up in the joey's mouth which keeps the joey attached to the teat and helps to prevent the joey from falling out of the backwards-opening pouch. Once out of the pouch, the young wombat will begin to eat solid foods and will be fully weaned anywhere from 11 to 15 months, with 12 months being about average.