AssetID: 54999826
Headline: RAW VIDEO: Adorable Tasmanian Devil Welcomes Her First Babies
Caption: An Australian zoo is celebrating the birth of two adorable Tasmanian Devil joeys. Mother Vegemite has become a mother for the very first time – and her newborns Peanut Butter and Jelly are already stealing hearts. The brother-and-sister pair were born at conservation organisation Aussie Ark in the Barrington Tops of New South Wales, Australia, and have just passed their very first health check with flying colours. Vegemite was born at the Ark but was tragically orphaned alongside her sister, Toast. The pair were hand-raised by Birds & Mammals Keeper Lauren Hunter from sister organisation the Australian Reptile Park. Once she reached maturity, Vegemite returned to the Ark to take part in the breeding program – and this winter she fell pregnant. Aussie Ark Operations Manager Dean Reid, who carried out the joeys’ first health check and gender reveal, said he was thrilled with their progress. “They are both super cute!” Mr Reid said. “And we are so proud of Vegemite. She has transitioned so well into being a healthy, happy, wild-living Devil…helping save her species from extinction with these two precious joeys. It’s the kind of full circle conservation success story we love here at Aussie Ark.” After the check-up, Vegemite was reunited with her babies – and staff were treated to the extraordinary sight of Peanut Butter and Jelly riding on their mother’s back, clinging tightly with their tiny teeth and feet. “This is what Devils do in the wild, and it’s very rare to witness,” Mr Reid said. “I feel very lucky to see it.” Only weeks earlier, however, Vegemite’s path to motherhood had been anything but smooth. As she settled into life as a new mum, her enclosure was hit by devastating floods, heavy snow, cyclonic winds and the destructive NSW ‘weather bomb’, which brought down fences and trees. One of the smashed fences was in Vegemite’s own habitat, forcing staff to evacuate her to a special recovery unit. It was during this emergency move that her joeys were first discovered safe inside her pouch.
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