Brookfield Zoo offers some special Mother's Day gift options
BROOKFIELD, Ill. (CBS) -- If you're looking for a Mother's Day gift for the animal lover in your life, the Brookfield Zoo is offering some fun options.
You can adopt Troody - a Western gray kangaroo who is a new mom herself. No, you don't get to take the kangaroo home – she'll be staying at the zoo.
But you can get a Plush Package, which includes a plush kangaroo mom with an in-pouch joey, a 5-inch by 7-inch color photograph of Troody, a personalized adoption certificate, a species fact sheet, an Animal Adoption decal, and an invitation to an exclusive 2023 Animal Adoption summer event, the zoo said.
The full Plush Package costs $59. The basic package – without the plush kangaroo – costs $35.
A third option for $150 includes the Plush Package and four admission tickets and a parking voucher to Brookfield Zoo.
Kangaroo moms spend a lot of time nurturing their young. The zoo notes that gray kangaroo joeys spend about 5 or 6 months in their mom's pouch – only venturing out occasionally – until they leave at the age of about 10 months. Joeys also nurse for a year and a half – the longest period of any marsupial.
Donations for the adoption packages go toward care and feeding of Brookfield Zoo western gray kangaroos. The zoo says to order, you can visit CZS.org/FeaturedCreature, call (708) 688-8341, or go to the zoo during regular business hours. Orders are due May 3 at the latest.
Also for Mother's Day, you can also name a parakeet at Hamill Family Wild Encounters. For $10, moms will receive a Certificate of Naming to fill out and share, and each participating mom's first name will be featured in the 2023 Mother's Day Parakeet Naming Board in the Wild Encounters aviary.