The infant was alive but cold—so Katie created a “nest” out of a warm towel. Then the baby and its mother were rushed to the San Diego Zoo’s hospital. A veterinarian would attempt a procedure that had never been tried before! While Nariah was prepped, the veterinary team filled a rubber glove with warm water and set the joey on the glove to keep it warm.

Very carefully, veterinarian Tracy Clippinger placed the baby in Nariah’s pouch. After a tremendous amount of effort, she finally got its tiny mouth to latch on to its mother’s nipple. The big challenge, however, was to make sure the baby stayed in the pouch. Dr. Tracy placed a few loose sutures there to hold the baby in place.

Now all they could do was wait to see if the baby would survive its traumatic first few hours of life.

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