My name is Shiho Nishio. I'm in charge of small animals here at the Fukuyama Zoo.
Wallabies are found throughout Australia.
Many people mistake them for young kangaroos,
but they're actually an entirely different type of animal.
As of now, there aren't many clear distinctions, so they're classified according to size,
with kangaroos being large, wallabies being small, and wallaroos being somewhere in-between.
Just like kangaroos, the main characteristic of wallabies is their pouch.
The way they raise their young inside these pouches is one of their defining features.
We can't see the young being born, so we take the day their head sticks out of the pouch as the date of birth.
So unlike other mammals, where we use the day they emerge from the womb as the date of birth,
with wallabies we use the day they emerge from the pouch as their birthday, instead.
We can see them move inside the pouch before they pop out.
We've occasionally seen their feet or arms pop out of the pouch.
They mature inside the pouch, so normally we see a leg or tail before actually seeing the face.
Now it's time go feed the wallabies.
Here's what we feed them.
At our zoo we feed them things like apples, carrots, bread, and sweet potatoes.
Wallabies eat with their hands, so we cut everything up into sticks to make it easier for them.
We also give them oak leaves, Japanese mustard spinach, and lettuce.
Wallabies usually use their hands when they eat.
But with certain foods, they'll just use their mouths.
I see the wallabies every day, so naturally I get attached to them.
Each one of them has their own unique personality,
and of course we've given them all names, so we're very fond of them.
This female wallaby eating right now is named Konoko.
Konoko.
Next to Konoko is Boy.
He's Konoko's father.
Over towards the back we have Lala.
The wallabies are already outside when I get here in the morning,
so I feed them and then they spend the day basking in the sun and playing around.
In the evening, they return to their sleeping area to eat again before heading outside to play around some more.
They shove each other playfully, as well as chase and sniff each other.
My favorite parts of wallabies are their eyes and ears.
I'm sure they can hear all the other animals here at the zoo.
I like the way their ear moves around in response to that.
They say wallabies are very cautious. They're also very timid.
Maybe it's just me, but the wallabies at our zoo don't seem so shy, though.