Lucky Swampies

This little pair of Swamp wallabies came in 10 days apart.

The first one was as the result of the mother being chased by a dog, luckily someone saw the joey and retrieved it. Someone going out to cut weeds on his property found the second one. As he approached the offending weed, he was surprised to hear an unfamiliar sound, it turned out to be a little swamp wallaby hiding and calling loudly for his mother.

Even though he was only just getting his fur he was not about to be caught by this strange creature. So he took off at a most surprising speed under scrub with our human rescuer in hot pursuit, at this stage on all fours. Being a fair bit bigger than our little wallaby, he was not quite as able to get through the scrub, but determined not to loose sight of the little fellow he heroically kept going and eventually succeeded in catching our little orphan.

When I received the little fellow he was very stressed and very dehydrated imagine he would have been under the bush for the day and possibly from the previous night, but after rehydrating him and getting him warm, he settled in. It didn't take many days before the two little ones hopped in together, and have since been inseparable. One wonders how he got separated from his mother, the most obvious would be yet another dog chase.

We all like to have the company and the security of owning a dog, especially if one lives out in the countryside. I see nothing wrong with that, but if you live in the country, PLEASE be a responsible dog owner and keep your dog in at night (the dog will love it) or make sure it is on a secure chain, or inside a fenced off area.

As wildlife carers we often hear the distraught owners of dogs and cats make the same statement, "but I never thought the dog or cat would do it'. The nature of the animal is to hunt, no matter how well fed it may be, it is still the instinct that will win when the situation arises. Your dog may be asleep when you go to bed and when you wake up in the morning it is still in the same place fast-asleep, but how do you know what it got up to in the early hours of the morning? It is quite amazing the distance they can cover in a very short time, they may even join a pack of other domestic dogs out on a night run.

It was thought the wallabies "threw" the joey in order to gain speed when chased it is now thought that it may in fact be accidental that the joey is lost in cases like this. If a wallaby is relaxed and at ease, it will relax the pouch for the joey to possibly graze on the grass etc. or hop out whilst mum is resting. If at this stage the wallaby is startled by the appearance of a dog, she will automatically take off, and in that case the joey is left behind. If the joey has its head out the pouch and the pouch is relaxed it may simply "fall out". In both cases it spells death for the joey.

The responsibility rests with us that live in the country where these animals have lived well before our arrival, to ensure that they are still able to survive in the future.





		This little pair of Swamp wallabies came in 10 days apart. The first one was as the result of the mother being chased by a dog, luckily someone saw the joey and retrieved it. Someone going out to cut weeds on his property found the second one. As he approached the offending weed, he was surprised to hear an unfamiliar sound, it turned out to be a little swamp wallaby hiding and calling loudly for his mother. Even though he was only just getting his fur he was not about to be caught by this strange creature. So he took off at a most surprising speed under scrub with our human rescuer in hot pursuit, at this stage on all fours. Being a fair bit bigger than our little wallaby, he was not quite as able to get through the scrub, but determined not to loose sight of the little fellow he heroically kept going and eventually succeeded in catching our little orphan. When I received the little fellow he was very stressed and very dehydrated imagine he would have been under the bush for the day and possibly from the previous night, but after rehydrating him and getting him warm, he settled in. It didn't take many days before the two little ones hopped in together, and have since been inseparable. One wonders how he got separated from his mother, the most obvious would be yet another dog chase. We all like to have the company and the security of owning a dog, especially if one lives out in the countryside. I see nothing wrong with that, but if you live in the country, PLEASE be a responsible dog owner and keep your dog in at night (the dog will love it) or make sure it is on a secure chain, or inside a fenced off area. As wildlife carers we often hear the distraught owners of dogs and cats make the same statement, "but I never thought the dog or cat would do it'. The nature of the animal is to hunt, no matter how well fed it may be, it is still the instinct that will win when the situation arises. Your dog may be asleep when you go to bed and when you wake up in the morning it is still in the same place fast-asleep, but how do you know what it got up to in the early hours of the morning? It is quite amazing the distance they can cover in a very short time, they may even join a pack of other domestic dogs out on a night run. It was thought the wallabies "threw" the joey in order to gain speed when chased it is now thought that it may in fact be accidental that the joey is lost in cases like this. If a wallaby is relaxed and at ease, it will relax the pouch for the joey to possibly graze on the grass etc. or hop out whilst mum is resting. If at this stage the wallaby is startled by the appearance of a dog, she will automatically take off, and in that case the joey is left behind. If the joey has its head out the pouch and the pouch is relaxed it may simply "fall out". In both cases it spells death for the joey. The responsibility rests with us that live in the country where these animals have lived well before our arrival, to ensure that they are still able to survive in the future.


			©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.