HOBO - The Swamp Wallaby

©Wildlife Mountain 2000, 2001, 2002

Wildlife Mountain is sponsored by the caring people from Foto Riesel. All pictures in this site are taken using their camera's and equipment. (364a Kent St, Sydney, +61 (02) 92996746)

We are also kindly sponsored by the friendly gang from the Ginger Necktar Drink Company.

We would also like to acknowledge the amazing support and help we have had from the Lismore Vet Clinic who have been an invaluable support to both us and the native wildlife of this region.

All native birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles are proteced under the Wildlife Act 1975, they may not be captured or harmed in any way without an authority issued under the Wildlife Act.





		Ho-Bo the Swamp Wallaby came into my care on a very hot january afternoon, he was found by some tourists from Germany who saw him lying on the side of the road. They picked him up and brought him to the nearest house not sure what they had found. The kind lady rang the wildlifecarers, and that is how he arrived here. Ho-Bo was a very little guy, weighing only 248 grams, no fur but very large deep brown eyes , full of fear and confusion. Luckily he had no injuries and was in fact a very healthy animal, he could not have been laying in the hot sun long, with no fur he would not have lasted, so he was very lucky to have been found. We will never know what happened to his mother, there was no sign of her. Sometimes if a wallaby or kangaroo is chased by a dog or hunted down, they will throw their little joey and do not come back. It is also common for the adult to die shortly after. Even if they are not caught, they can die of fright, usually out of sight. I put little HO-BO in a snug warm pouch and he was kept in a humidybox till his fur started to grow. As he was so little he had to be fed every few hours on a special formula specially formulated to wallabys, as they cannot tolerate cows milk or soy milk. This is very important: the wildlifecarers get a lot of animals in that have been fed the incorrect food, it is not always a success story in such circumstances, people feed the animals to be kind, unfortunatly it can do damage - always try to contact your nearest wildlife care group, they can advise you on what to do. Ho- Bo grew quite fast, and it did not take very long before he would stick his little head out of the pouch, soon he was out in the nursery pen coming out for short hops round the pen, exploring his surroundings, quickly back in his pouch at the slightest noise. When he was big enough to be outside both day and night, he would spend most of the day sleeping in his pouch, and out at night exploring under the cover of darkness. He was fed the things he would find in the bush ,plus his beloved bottle till he was about 13 months old,when he was taken up to the release pen where he had to learn to be wild, here he would meet other wallabys like himself .It is rather important that the animals learn that they are wild and to fend for themselves before release, having grown up with humans even with more of their own in care at the same time, they have to forget abuot us,this can be hard, but for the animals survival it is imperative. Ho-BO took a little longer than he should have, having been my first joey it was hard for us both to let go, but we both did, he was released when he was 19 months old. We still see Ho-Bo in the bush every now and then, he stops for a quick look and is off again, hopefully he has found a girlfriend out there and forgotten all about us. We will never forget him.


			©Wildlife Mountain 2000, 2001, 2002 Wildlife Mountain is sponsored by the caring people from Foto Riesel. All pictures in this site are taken using their camera's and equipment. (364a Kent St, Sydney, +61 (02) 92996746) We are also kindly sponsored by the friendly gang from the Ginger Necktar Drink Company. We would also like to acknowledge the amazing support and help we have had from the Lismore Vet Clinic who have been an invaluable support to both us and the native wildlife of this region. All native birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles are proteced under the Wildlife Act 1975, they may not be captured or harmed in any way without an authority issued under the Wildlife Act.