Southern Hairy nosed wombat

We have to admit it — when an animal has the term “hairy-nosed” in its name, you don’t really expect them to rate high on the cuteness scale.

But the Brookfield Zoo’s new southern hairy-nosed wombat joey proves to be the exception to that rule.

The yet-to-be-named baby girl was born in February — and was only about the size of a bumblebee! After spending months sleeping, nursing and growing in Mom’s pouch, she’s only recently ventured out on her own at the Illinois zoo.

There are only about 10 of these wombats living in four North American zoos. In 1974 the Brookfield Zoo became the first one outside Australia to successfully breed the marsupials.