Submitted Photo Iris, a new kangaroo at Minot’s Roosevelt Park Zoo, and her joey were outdoors Thursday with the zoo’s two other adult kangaroos on Thursday. Iris and her baby arrived at the zoo in January.

When a Cleveland zoo was getting ready to send an adult female kangaroo to Minot’s Roosevelt Park Zoo a few months ago, they had a surprise. A baby kangaroo, or joey, was in its mother’s pouch.

“They were going through routine veterinary checks before her trip to North Dakota when they discovered a joey in her pouch! We’re not sure the age or sex of the baby,” said Jennifer Kleen, executive director of the Minot Zoo Crew.

The adult female kangaroo and joey arrived at the Minot zoo in January.

“She went through a routine quarantine period then a ‘howdy’ period with our two male kangaroos Apollo & Hermes – first allowing them to see, smell and hear each other – then allowing them to mingle during the day – and today (Thursday) was their first day outside together (with other kangaroos),” Kleen said.

Kleen said the zoo held a Facebook poll in late January to give the adult female kangaroo a name. “As the others have a Greek mythology theme in their names, our visitors named our new female ‘Iris’ – the Greek Goddess of the Rainbow,” Kleen said.

The joey doesn’t have a name yet but Kleen said they will follow the Greek mythology theme for naming the baby.

The Minot zoo’s kangaroos are red kangaroos. Native of Australia, the red kangaroo is the largest living marsupial, according to zoo information. As the largest of all kangaroos, the average red kangaroo stands about 5-feet tall. A newborn kangaroo is about 1-inch in length, hairless, deaf and blind but within moments, it instinctively climbs up the mother’s abdomen into her belly pouch. It remains there to nurse and complete its development.