Tippy Red-Necked wallaby

TIPPY

Tippie is a Red Neck Wallaby, she was found after having been run over by a lawnmower, in very long grass. A woman was moving her lawn, when she realised she had run over this very small wallaby, it was not yet furred, but did have its eyes open. The mover had cut part of her tail off, but otherwise she didn't seem injured. The lady rushed the wallaby to the vet, who amputated the damaged part of the tail, and stitched it up.

One has to ask how did this tiny animal come to be in the long grass in the first place when it should have been safely in its mother's pouch. I can only guess, but one explanation could be the mother had been asleep in the grass when the mover started, and the Joey simply fell out of the pouch, in the mother's rush to get away. When a wallaby is resting, she will often relax the pouch as well, to let the Joey stick its head out for a sniff of the air, or nibble on the grass.

When I got the call from the vet, I must admit I didn't think the little wallaby had much of a chance. The shock in itself should have been enough to kill it, not to mention the stress of an operation.

I underestimated the will power of this little animal. She did have a number of problems whilst she was in care, but she overcame each and every one of them. It took her some time to learn to balance with her short tail, as wallabies rely strongly on the tail for balance.
Tippie would fall over when she tried to hop, to scratch herself, she would loose her balance, but she never gave up.She is now as fast as the others, a bit smaller, however, she is making up for her lack of stature by her strength of character.
It has been a privilege and a pleasure to look after this animal, and she has taught me more than any other I have had in care, just by her sheer determination to live.

Update: Tippie has been released, and as she is very easy to recognize due to her short tail, we were very happy to spot her in the bush, with a little joey peering out of her very full pouch