A Barnsley tourist attraction is celebrating after welcoming some rare new arrivals – a long-nosed potoroo joey and a Shire foal – just in time for Mother’s Day,

Cannon Hall Farm, in Barnsley, has welcomed its littlest and largest new arrivals – including its first ever joey in the Mammal House enclosure to proud parents Puffle and Big Nige. The tiny marsupial is thought to be around four months old but has only just climbed out from the pouch of first-time mum Puffle.

Potoroos are nocturnal marsupials, native to south-eastern Australia, that resemble small wallabies. They are registered as near threatened as their conservation status and Cannon Hall Farm’s mammal house has been aiding the conservation efforts to try to protect their numbers.

Georgie Kaye, head of mammals at Cannon Hall Farm, said: “Conservation was really  why I got into this job, obviously being close to lovely animals is a bonus but I felt really strongly that protecting species and conservation was something I wanted to get involved with. 

“Being so closely involved with this here at the farm has been a brilliant experience and I am really looking forward to being able to tell our visitors more about potoroos – ultimately that’s what all at risk species need, people who have never seen or heard of them before to come and see them and fall in love with them. 

“We’ve never had a baby potoroo here before so it is very exciting.”

Potoroo joeys start out about the size of a jelly bean in their mother’s pouch and then emerge only when they are strong enough to do so – much like kangaroos. And that isn’t the only rare new arrival for the farm this week – Brooke the Shire Horse has also just delivered a foal.

Farm director Rob Nicholson added: “It really is a case of little and large on these new arrivals. Both very rare animals that we are doing our best to protect here on the farm. We are so proud of our conservation efforts and that we can share these with our visitors.”

Cannon Hall Farm is an open farm where visitors can see the animals every day. It is a registered Shire Horse Society Centre aiming to increase the numbers of the equine breed and works with conservation experts for its more exotic breeding programmes in the mammal house.