THEY'VE captured the hearts of everyone who has come across them since they shot to fame a few weeks ago – but the baby wallabies at Tropical Wings Zoo in Essex are still without names.
The two cuties, who recently popped their heads out of their mothers' pouches at the South Woodham Ferrers zoo for the first time, will be hopping mad if they don't get named soon.
The yet-to-be-named bundles of joy have become a favourite attraction at the zoo after it was revealed that an albino mother named Emily had given birth to a brown joey, while a brown mother named Monica had given birth to an albino joey.
John Ray, manager of Tropical Wings, said: "It is extremely rare to see two parents like this in captivity and as far as I am aware it has never been recorded in the wild.
"We were amazed when we first saw the joeys pop their heads out – they have gone down a storm with visitors who are fascinated by what looks like a couple of bouncing babies that have been switched at birth!"
The two joeys are around five months old and John expects them to remove themselves from the pouch in about four months' time.
He said: "It'll be great when they're ready to
come out. Our wallabies are very friendly and tame, and come up close to
visitors during the daily wallaby feed, which is one of our most popular animal
encounters."
The breed of wallabies at Tropical Wings Zoo is the Bennett's Wallaby – commonly known as the red-necked wallaby – which is usually found in eastern Australia and Tasmania.
The males are affectionately referred to as 'Jacks' while the females are known as 'Jills' and there are three known wild colonies of wallabies in the UK: one in Scotland, Derbyshire and Sussex.
To enter the competition please send your suggestions of names to tropicalwings@onlybeattie.com by May 17 2013. Full contact details must also be included with your entry.
Each winner will receive a family pass to the zoo, where they will get to meet, and feed, their baby wallaby.
Winners will be notified two weeks after the competition closing date. Competition and prize terms and conditions apply.
Tropical Wings Zoo is open from 9.30am until 5.30pm daily.
