Well belated Happy Easter to all..i hope everyone had a lovely time and got some relaxing in!
I hinted at a new visitor that had been spotted here on our property and i am now going to introduce you!
We have been here 5 years in August and this is the first time ever i have seen a Wallaby here..i cannot even begin to tell you how thrilled i was and especially as the visit came on the heels of a really sad day.
We had the Wildlife rescue out to sadly PTS a Kangaroo..he had a broken leg and had been eluding the folks in the street for two days..despite his serious injury the poor thing managed to get away each time.
I had no idea..i had been shooting a sweet family and then heard the news that this was about to happen.
The kindest thing to do is to end an animals suffering but i will never get used to the sound of a gunshot.
I was of course a mess..in tears and feeling miserable so i went for a wander with my camera.
A bit of nature therapy..i had not gotten far from the house when i spotted him..the Wallaby..my heart skipped a beat ,and as much as i wanted to clap my hands in the way that has hubby always laughing at me , i had to concentrate as i was scared my little visitor would leave!
I grabbed some shots and he took off but the next day he was back and hubby and i both got to spend some lovely time with him as he chowed down on those Hedge Wattles i despise!
Not only a beauty but also my new BFF for helping get rid of these rotten thorny beasts!
First some facts 🙂
.. The Swamp Wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) a small macropod marsupial of eastern Australia.
This sweet wallaby is also known (mainly here in Victoria) as the Black faced Wallaby, the black tailed wallaby, stinker (QLD), black stinker (NSW) due to it’s characteristic swampy odour,fern wallaby,black wallaby, and black pademelon.
The Swamp Wallaby is the only living member of the genus Wallabia.
The bicolor comes from the varied color that they have.
Typical grey coat of macropods varied with dark brown to black region on the back and light yellow to rufous orange on the chest.A light colored cheek stripe is usually present and extremities of the body generally show darker coloring except the tail tip which is often white.
Their gait is also different to other wallabies as they carry their head low and tail out straight.
The average length (height) is about 30″ or 76cm for males and 27.5″ or 70cm for females.
The tail in both sexes is approx equal in length to the rest of the body.
Average weight for males 37lb (17kg) and females 29lb (13kg)
They become of breeding age around 15-18 Â months and breed throughout the year.
Gestation is 33-38 days and leads to a single young which is carried in the pouch for 8-9 months but will continue to suckle until about 15 months.
The Black faced Wallaby is usually a solitary animal but will aggregate in groups when feeding.
They will eat a wide range of food plants shrubs pasture and native and exotic vegetation and seem to be able to tolerate plants poisonous to others such as brackens and lantana.
Rather than grazing like Kangaroos they prefer to browse shrubs which is unusual in wallabies and macropods who prefer to graze.
Their tooth structure means their molars differ from other wallabies in that they are designed for browsing and their 4th premolar they keep for life and it is shaped for cutting coarse plant matter (ie.that hedge wattle!)
Several characteristics both physical and behavioral make the Black faced wallaby different enough from other wallabies to place it in it’s own genus Wallabia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swamp_wallaby
And  now please welcome Wally who i hope feels safe and at home here on  our 11 acres, for awhile at least..get ready to squee as he is adorable 🙂 and yes a boy..i checked 😉
FOZZIE.M 