Baby tree kangaroo takes first steps, but quickly decides pouch is much, much better than world

The world can be a big bad place.

Even when it’s warm and welcoming, sometimes it can be all too much.

At least, it seemed to be for a little joey at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia.

Almost as quickly as he exited his mother’s pouch, the Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo hopped back in.

Tentative first steps for a joey Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo. Taronga Zoo Sydney/Facebook

“Things were getting pretty cramped in Mum’s pouch, so the newest member of the Taronga family decided to give hopping a go,” the zoo posted on Facebook. “Not bad for a first attempt!”

The Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo is a critically endangered species.

Threatened by habitat destruction and hunting, tree kangaroos are pretty amazing. They can leap between trees in a matter of seconds, jumping up to 18 metres. And these kangaroos can walk backwards, unlike those who are stuck on the ground, and have especially-adapted pads on their feet and hands to help with climbing.

This little joey was born last September, and only started popping its head out about a week ago.

This joey was born in September, 2017, but only recently started popping out of his mother’s pouch. Taronga Zoo Sydney/Facebook

It’s the the second joey to be born at Taronga in over 24 years.

A female joey was born there in 2013.

And the yet-to-be-named little fella is all kinda of adorable.

Photos Taronga Zoo Sydney/Facebook

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Recovering newspaper reporter.

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