An adorable joey at Healesville Sanctuary, Vic, finally has a name – thanks to a public vote.
The playful, eight-month-old Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo joey has been named Mungili (pronounced Moon-gi-lee).
The name was chosen from a shortlist of three for the joey, who looks like his mother, Mani.
Mungili won out, beating Murua and Mongo.
All three names have ties with the tree-kangaroo’s native Papua New Guinea, and Mungili means precious or beautiful.
Mammal keeper Katherine Sarris said, ‘He’s getting so big, he’s almost too big to hitch a ride in mum Mani’s pouch, so she’s started trying to gently push him away – however, he’s persistent and often manages to slip back into her pouch!’
