Young royals help name Australia Zoo’s new kangaroo joey
Princess Charlotte loves animals and the outdoors, so it must have given her great pleasure to help name a cute new joey at Australia Zoo. Find out what the royals called the “cuddly” little creature
READING LEVEL: GREEN
Prince William and Princess Catherine, along with their three children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis – have named an eastern grey kangaroo at Australia Zoo.
Robert Irwin made the adorable announcement from the famous zoo in a joint Instagram post with the royals.
The “Wales family” have chosen the name “Cwtch”, which is Welsh for cuddle, Mr Irwin said.
In a video message with kangaroos surrounding him, Mr Irwin thanked the younger royals – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – for coming up with the name.
“G’Day! It’s Robert Irwin here with a couple of my mates. This is of course the icon of Australia, the kangaroo, and I’m very proud to announce that my friends, the Wales family, helped us to name our beautiful new joey,” the US Dancing with the Stars champion said as he sat in the grass, with Cwtch, her mother and another kangaroo beside him.
The wildlife conservationist* described Cwtch as “the absolute perfect name” for a joey kangaroo since, at that age, they “love a cuddle” and spend most of their time in their mother’s pouch.
“I want to say a particular thank you to Prince George, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte for your help in finding this one a brilliant name,” he said.
“Cwtch is now proudly part of our family here at Australia Zoo.”
Pronounced “kutch”, Mr Irwin said he invited the royals to help name the baby kangaroo as part of efforts to put a global spotlight on conservation.
“Thank you for your support with our wildlife conservation efforts. It is so important that we conserve all of our animals, including the icons*, the kangaroos,” he said in his video message.
Cwtch already seems to have another fan in the Irwin family. Mr Irwin’s mother Terri commented below the video “So special.”
“Cwtch is already stealing hearts, and I hope she inspires people to fall in love with wildlife and want to help protect it,” Mr Irwin added.
The young royals have hit the headlines a few times in recent weeks, after first Louis then his big sister Charlotte celebrated their birthdays. A video was released of Princess Charlotte to mark her 11th birthday, in which the young princess could be seen on a family beach holiday, playing with the family dog, Otto, and showing off some serious cricket skills.
Last month, a video marking Prince Louis’s 8th birthday was released showing the youngest member of the royal family playing in the sand at the beach and showing his adventurous side by jumping into the water from a height.
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GLOSSARY
- conservationist: someone who works for the protection and preservation of wildlife
- icons: symbolic of a country or culture
EXTRA READING
Roos’ upside-down evolution in Oz
Through Sir Attenborough’s eyes
Games the royals can’t play
QUICK QUIZ
1. What language is Cwtch?
2. What does it mean?
3. Why does Robert Irwin describe it as the perfect name for a joey kangaroo?
4. Which members of the royal family recently celebrated birthdays?
5. Who is the youngest member of the royal family?
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. A conservation message
In his video, Robert Irwin spoke about the importance of wildlife conservation. Create your own piece of communication to share this message with others.
You may choose the format, such as a poster, letter, speech, video message, or another type of communication you think will be effective.
Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English
2. Extension
A baby kangaroo is called a “joey.” List at least 10 other native Australian animals and write down the names used for their babies.
Then, choose one of these baby animal names and write an acrostic poem using that word. (An acrostic poem uses the letters of a word written vertically, with each line beginning with those letters.)
Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English
VCOP ACTIVITY
Read this!
A headline on an article – or a title on your text – should capture the attention of the audience, telling them to read this now. So choosing the perfect words for a headline or title is very important.
Create three new headlines for the events that took place in this article. Remember, what you write and how you write it will set the pace for the whole text, so make sure it matches.
Read out your headlines to a partner and discuss what the article will be about based on the headline you created. Discuss the tone and mood you set in just your few, short words. Does it do the article justice? Will it capture the audience’s attention the way you hoped? Would you want to read more?
Consider how a headline or title is similar to using short, sharp sentences throughout your text. They can be just as important as complex ones. Go through the last text you wrote and highlight any short, sharp sentences that capture the audience.