For 24 hours Rex the Wallaby had a taste of freedom – escaping from the Lots of Love Farm animal sanctuary and hopping and jumping to the Walmart Supercenter on the Black Horse Pike in Williamstown one mile away by car but only a half-mile as the bird flies.
On a cold, gusty, winter evening Monday, Dec. 29, the three-year-old wallaby got free from an unlocked cage, but did not opt for a meal at the IHOP on Berlin-Cross Keys Road.
Instead, on Tuesday morning, a few residents spotted Rex in the parking lot of Walmart parking lot, thinking he was a kangaroo.
Earlier that morning, the farm owners and animal control officers had begun searching for the wandering wallaby, and on Tuesday night he was spotted behind a fence in a retention pond next to the store.
Lots of Love Farm owner Ron Layden was called and tempted Rex with food, allowing three teenagers and animal welfare personnel to coral the wallaby.
Due to the freezing weather on Monday night, Layden had moved Rex inside. “Since it was so cold, I brought him in the barn. I made a little cage in the barn for him, and somehow it didn’t get locked.”
After the rescue, Layden posted a message of happiness on the farm’s Facebook page: “If this just didn’t become the best night ever! With the help of some really cool kids and a really cool dad, we caught Rex at the Walmart! He is home safe and sound! Thank you everyone. You’re all amazing. He must really like Walmart.”
Located on 1928 Corkery Road in Williamstown, the animal sanctuary is home to various types of animal species and the farm also hosts a petting zoo.
Wallabies are native to Australia, Tasmania and Papua New Guinea, where they live in the wild. At most, there are a few thousand living in the United States, mostly in zoos, animal sanctuaries and as exotic pets for people.
Wallabies are a marsupial related to kangaroos, but they are smaller. They are excellent jumpers, which Rex certainly used to advantage in his escape. With the help of powerful hind legs, they can hop rapidly at speeds up to 30 mph when escaping danger and can jump 13 feet in one bound.
With the help of their powerful tail which they use as a third leg, rock wallabies are very agile and can scale steep cliffs with their strong claws. Amazingly, they established a feral colony in Hawaii – the closest state to Australia.
Elsewhere in the United States, wallabies generally live in captivity. Various species live at the San Diego Zoo and are part of an exhibit to educate people about them. Also, private owners keep them as pets – which is allowed in most states except for Alaska, California, Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska and Washington.
For 24 hours Rex the Wallaby emulated his Hawaiian cousins and briefly lived free in the wild. Certainly it was a taste of freedom he, or the residents of Williamstown, will not soon forget.
In a social media post, Lots of Love Farm quipped, “We think Rex should be Walmart’s mascot! What do you think? Lol Thank you again everyone for all your help.”
