Zookeeper in North Dakota carrying orphaned kangaroo
Amanda will carry the joey wrapped around her throughout the day to help it develop.
WAHPETON, N.D. (AP) — A keeper at a North Dakota zoo has become a first-time mom. But the baby she carries around the clock in a colorful flannel pouch is not a little human, it s an orphaned kangaroo.
Amanda Dukart is a zookeeper at the Chahinkapa Zoo in Wahpeton. For the next six months, she will carry the joey wrapped around her throughout the day to help it develop.
WDAY-TV (http://bit.ly/1M70CcR ) reports the zoo is hoping the joey survives after its mother died unexpectedly several weeks ago. Dukart says most of the animal s development happens inside the mother s pouch.
Dukart says she can now "sympathize with working moms" because she works all the time and also cares for baby Barkley.
Barkley will join the zoo s kangaroo exhibit when it turns 18 months old.
