What’s cuter than a baby animal?
A baby animal listening to country music, of course.
Jelly Roll got to meet some animals while overseas in Australia, and even got the honor of naming a brand-new baby quokka.
“I am fixing to faint. This might be the greatest day of my whole life,” the singer says at one point in a video posted to social media, which shows him interacting with and holding animals like a wombat, a koala and of course, the newborn quokka.
He FaceTimed his wife Bunnie Xo for help coming up with name ideas, and she suggested, “You gotta name her something country.”
They settled on Loretta — after Loretta Lynn, of course — and Jelly unofficially christened the baby animal by playing a snippet of her namesake’s signature song, “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”
Jelly and Bunnie are longtime animal lovers who’ve rescued several farm animals of their own. So it’s not a huge surprise that as Jelly held the quokka, he immediately started thinking of ways to give back to the animals in the Australian center.
Read More: Who is Jelly Roll’s Wife? Bunnie Xo’s Name, Age, Job + More
“This could be a new thing, dude. We could start rescuing quokkas,” he suggested.
“We’ll start sponsoring them. What do they cost? I’ll buy Loretta right now,” Jelly continued, leaning over to pet the quokka in his arms. “She’s like a little mouse. This just keeps getting cooler.”
Why Does Jelly Roll Have a Quokka Tattoo?
The quokka — which is a small marsupial native to the islands off the coast of Western Australia — is one of Jelly’s favorite animals.
He even has a tattoo of one, which he debuted on social media in 2021.
In 2023, Jelly explained his quokka tattoo to Taste of Country and other media outlets, saying that he’s “infatuated” with the species because they’re the “happiest animal on earth.”
Read More: Jelly Roll Explains Why He Got a Quokka Tattoo
“They’re always smiling. They have no known predators on their island, and they live off eucalyptus leaves,” he related. “Which means they’re always high, which is why they’re always happy.”
“Anytime I get upset in life, I look down at my wrist and think, ‘Just be a quokka. High and happy,'” he added.
Jelly Roll: 27 Stunning Facts About the ‘Save Me’ Singer
Jelly Roll is country music’s most fascinating character. His life has taken dozens of wild twists and turns, and he’s been honest about all of it. Here are 27 facts about the “Save Me” singer and his family.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
