Actually, folks, it's a wombat

She's finally ready to leave the nest ... er ... pouch.

Goldie, the female southern hairy-nosed baby wombat at Brookfield Zoo, is ready to greet her adoring public.

The young wombat, known as a joey, was born to mom Kambora in October.

Wombats are marsupials that carry their young in a pouch. Goldie, who weighed only a fraction of a pound at birth, spent her first eight months in Kambora's pouch.

Now, at nearly nine pounds, the joey is too big for her first home and just goes back to nurse. She's also eating biscuits, sweet potatoes, carrots and hay.

The young marsupial is the first southern hairy-nosed wombat born in a North American zoo since 2000 and the first at Brookfield since 1993.

Southern hairy-nosed wombats are native to Australia and grow to the size of a dog.

Zoo officials advised the best time to view Goldie and Kambora is after 2 p.m. in the Australia House area.