‘Zoo’ premiere shows marsupial care
A BRONX Zoo kangaroo is ready for his close up.
The marsupial — named Dave — suffers from arthritis, but is just a hop, skip and a jump away from leaping back into action, thanks to medicine usually reserved for humans.
Dave was rescued from an irresponsible New Jersey pet owner in 2015.
“He was a very young kangaroo — he was still in a pouch — they didn’t have the expertise to care for him,” Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo Jim Breheny told the Daily News.
It wasn’t long before the little joey was saved and taken to an animal shelter — but it wasn’t able to care for him there, either.
Equipped with the medical knowledge and know-how to care for exotic animals, the Bronx Zoo ended up saving baby Dave.
He’s called the Boogie-Down home ever since.
“He’s kind of an older gentleman now, he’s got some age-related problems, he has arthritis and stiffness in his joints,” Breheny said.
The old-timer kangaroo is one of three animals that will be featured in the season premiere of Animal Planet’s season two of “The Zoo,” which will highlight how zoologists use cryotherapy to relieve Dave of his pain.
The medical therapy, commonly used on athletes, is a cooling pain treatment which limits blood flow and decreases swelling.
“People don't realize how complex a task it is to really care for individual animals and manage species at same time,” Breheny told the News.
The treatment is just one example of how more than 200 trailblazing experts at the Bronx Zoo are advancing animal care, with research on over 700 resident species.
“A lot of people are not aware of how much zoos have evolved over the last 40 to 50, 60 — 100 years,” Breheny said. “Modern zoos in the 21st century not only take care of animals and exhibit them to the public — we work to save species.”
Season two of “The Zoo” premieres March 10 at 9 p.m. ET on Animal Planet.