Early morning rounds for the rangers at the Barrington Tops conservation organisation came with a very tiny surprise, when they stumbled upon a young rufous bettong joey who had been separated from mum.

The young joey was found in freezing cold temperatures, curled up on the ground, and is thought to have been thrown from mums' pouch in the early hours of the morning. Thankfully, the rangers were quick to act.

Following the discovery, ranger and Aussie Ark curater Kelly Davis transported the young joey up to Aussie Ark headquarters to warm him up, perform a health check to determine any injuries, give him a bottle and of course provide a little bit of TLC.

Thankfully, the joey, who is thought to be about three months old, appeared to be in good health and after being warmed up and given a bottle, he was affectionately named Stanley.

"Stumbling upon this little guy, was quite the surprise. Given the freezing conditions we've had overnight, I was so relieved to find him alive" Kelly said.

"I quickly scooped him up and wrapped him in my beanie, before racing back up to HQ to warm him up properly and give him a thorough wellness check - which he passed! He took a bottle and quickly curled up and went to sleep in my hand hands."

The tiny orphan will now require around the clock care from Kelly for the next six to eight months while he continues to grow. This will include a bottle every three hours (even during the night!), regular health checks to weigh him and measure his growth and providing lots of cuddles.

Once Stanley has reached maturity, he will re-join other rufous bettongs in the organisation's conservation breeding program to ensure he retains natural wild behaviours.

The rufous rat-kangaroo (Aepyprymnus rufescens), more commonly known as the rufous bettong, is a small marsupial species of the family Potoroidae found in Australia. It is found in coastal and sub coastal regions from Newcastle in NSW to Cooktown in Queensland and was formerly found in the Murray River Valley of NSW and Victoria.

Tiny Stanley has a long way to go but is in good hands with Ranger Kelly. To stay up to date with Stanley's progress head to aussieark.org.au.

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