We receive a number of Swamp wallabies in to care at Wildlife Mountain, most are very similar in looks and size
as they grow.
This little male however was a big surprise. He came in to care at just 600 gram, normally a joey at that weight would just be starting to grow fur, very short and sleek.
Tiny as he is now named, was different, he was fully furred, and much older than his weight indicated. In all the years I have cared for this species I have never come across such a tiny Swamp wallaby.
Seen in image on the right at 900 gram.

He is obviously much older than his weight indicates, and he interacts with joey's in care that are much larger than him, spends most of his time out of his pouch at this stage, now 1200 gram.

I guess as humans can have different sizes, animals also have the same scale of difference on occasion, as is the case here.
He is seen here with other wallabies of the same stage of development, obviously he is not aware that he is different, and he will play fight with the larger joey's, as if he was the same size as them.
This lovely creature is growing up, he is still so much smaller than the others
in care, his weight is now just over 2 kg, the other joey's of same stage of development is almost 5 kg. But as you can see, he does not care much about that.
I just love the way animals blend in with nature.
This pile of mulch is inside the nursery pen, being used by the joey's to test their skills, they jump up, they climb and they hide, all important skills to learn before they head off in to the wild..

May 2008 
Tiny was released in January 2008, he is still seen around our property and he is doing well. He is still very small for a male Swamp wallaby, but his behavior is no different to any other Swamp wallaby.
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