A startled kangaroo at the Belgrade zoo dropped her baby from her pouch and now won't let the tiny creature climb back in, so an international rescue operation has been mounted.
Belgrade zookeepers said Tuesday that 6-month-old Tijana fell out of the pouch last month after her mother was scared by an emu — a large Australian bird.
Now, the big-eyed baby kangaroo, which normally would feed on her mother's milk inside the pouch, is being fed in an incubator with special milk donated by Australia, the United States and Germany.
"The zoo has done a fantastic job," said Australia's Ambassador to Belgrade Clare Birgin, after delivering a shipment of kangaroo milk. "They really saved her life."
Belgrade zookeeper Mainga Hamadahamane said that advice from the zoos in Australia, Germany, the Czech Republic, the U.S. and Belgium saved Tijana's life.
"Without them, she wouldn't be alive," he said, cuddling the tiny creature.
The zookeepers said Tijana will be fed from a bottle for the next couple of months before getting such food as rice and bananas.