This little lady came in 29th May 2005. She was discovered by a family out walking with their dog near a dam. The dog became very busy, and the owner luckily ran to find out what was so interesting. This little female Swamp wallaby was trying to hide under bushes, she was not successful though. The dog did not attempt to bite the wallaby, and when I recieved her she was in very good condition, although extremely stressed.

As always where predator animals have been involved, it took quite some time for this wallaby joey to settle in to care, however at this stage she is happy in her surroundings and spends a lot of time out of her pouch, eating grass and browsing on native foliage. She is still bottle fed 4 times a day, but will now come running for her bottle most of the time. She is still very shy, and can not be handled at all, she will stand for her bottle, but hands off is her attitude. That is the way we prefer them to behave at Wildlife Mountain, and they are rarely handled after a certain age. No padding on the head, no picking up for a cuddle. These are wild animals, and have to return to a life in the wild, how can we as carers expect these animals to survive if they need cuddles and pats. It is unrealistic and cruel to make a wild animal dependant on human company and comfort, they can not be expected to survive long term if not able to fend for them selves once released, and that can only happen if they are reared with others of their own kind, learning from each other, not us.

Nugget will be in care for some time yet, we will keep you updated as to her progress.