Florida zoo staff hand-raises abandoned baby kangaroo

VIERA, Fla. – An abandoned baby kangaroo is back with her mob after being hand-raised by the staff at a Florida zoo.

Brevard Zoo officials said in a news release that Lilly, who was born in August, was found abandoned on the floor of the zoo’s habitat Jan. 23. Zookeepers believe stress caused by a severe storm the night before likely caused her mother to eject the baby from her pouch.

Florida Today reports zookeepers weren’t able to reunite the pair so the staff started taking care of Lilly.

Zoo collection manager Lauren Hinson became Lilly’s primary caretaker, bottle-feeding her six times a day, taking her home at night and wearing a fabric pouch to carry her.

Lilly’s been making supervised visits to the zoo and this week officials felt it safe to leave her there.