How to Get into the Pouch: Solving the Riddle of the Kangaroo Birth (1826–1926)

Abstract

How does the newborn kangaroo get into the pouch after birth? This question was much discussed by naturalists around the globe between 1826, when Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire first addressed the issue, and 1926, when Ellis Troughton published a “definite” account of the debate. In its first part, this paper focuses on the investigations conducted at European zoos. The advent of kangaroos made it possible to investigate the riddle through observation. In the early 1830s, Richard Owen enlisted the aid of London Zoo to devise a research programme. He claimed that the mother put the embryo into the pouch using her lips, and naturalists in other Europeans zoos were eager to confirm Owen's hypothesis. In its second part, this paper contrasts the zoo-based investigations with observations made in Australia. Hunters and animal traders claimed that the joey travelled into the pouch without any assistance from the mother. This case study allows us to address a number of overarching questions: Could the zoo live up to its promise to generate knowledge in natural history, challenging the classical method of anatomical dissection? What practical difficulties did naturalists and animal keepers face in their observations? How did the information on the reproduction of marsupials circulate (or not) between metropolitan centres and colonial outposts? The riddle of the kangaroo birth casts light on the potential and the limitations of the zoo as a site for research.