Mother Kangaroo With Baby Joeys To Feed | Wild Down Under | National Geographic Wild UK

This doe, or blue flyer, has been in reproductive overdrive since the rain swirled the grasses. She's not eating for two, but for four. One in her womb, one in her pouch, and this one-year-old joey that's still suckling. Soon he'll be on his own, to make it or break it in the inevitable drought. So far the outback has generously fed the joey and his milk-making mother. But mother nature can be cruel. When the land goes dry, so will the mother kangaroo. If that happens before the baby reaches about six weeks, she'll die and get tossed out of the pouch to give the dormant embryo in its mother's womb a better chance. But now this multitasking mum serves her baby's two kinds of milk from separate nipples. The older joey gets a high-fat formula, while his six-week-old sister suckles milk that's easier to digest and rich in antibodies. Meanwhile, an embryo waits for his sister to outgrow the pouch. Then the embryo will take her place, as long as the mother kangaroo is eating well.