Ues &pes garden
A rare sighting of a local swamp wallaby has LEONARD CRONIN hoping the lovable macropods have dodged the odds
Swamp wallabies used to be a common sight around our garden in the early morning and evening, nibbling away on shrubs and grasses. But their habit of sampling every tasty plant in the garden led to many heartbreaking moments, as newly planted trees were reduced to leafless sticks overnight and vegie patches demolished. We quickly learnt to protect our precious plants with sturdy wire cages, and for many years we lived in harmony with our wallabies.
Unfortunately, over the last decade, feral dogs, foxes, subdivisions and highway construction have had such a serious impact on our wallaby population that we no longer see these wonderful creatures in our garden.
I knew they were still around, however, because there were fresh tracks through the undergrowth, and evidence of their nibbling. Then, just the other morning, I caught sight of a mother and her young-at-foot happily munching away around the perimeter of our garden.
The young joey made off pretty quickly, but the mother and I observed each other for a minute or two before she put her head down and resumed feeding.
Swamp wallabies are small, stocky kangaroos, sitting about 75cm high on their haunches. Despite their common name, they spend most of the day in forests, heaths and woodlands, sheltering discreetly in dense vegetation. They usually live on their own or with their young, and sometimes feed in small groups in open grassy areas, preferring soft new growth and taller plants that they can grasp with their forelimbs. Ferns, leaves, bark and grasses are all consumed, but their favourite food seems to be truffles, which they dig up with their forefeet.
Given good conditions, and with feral dogs and foxes under control, swamp wallaby populations can climb quite rapidly. Females are able to mate and become pregnant a few days before the joey of the previous mating is actually born. When the first joey permanently leaves the pouch at about eight months old, the second embryo resumes development. So females are able to produce a joey every eight months. This gives us hope that our local group’s numbers may be on the rise.
Len gardens in the Northern Rivers, New South Wales