HOPPIN’ GLAD!

Bronx Zoo happy to take shelter wallaby

Guess what hopped into a city animal shelter Wednesday?

A 6-month-old wallaby — a proud member of the kangaroo family — was brought into the Animal Care Centers of NYC shelter on E. 110th St. and will soon get a new home among fellow marsupials at the Bronx Zoo, animal care officials said.

The wide-eyed, 15-pound wallaby, named Howie, was given as a “gift,” to a Bronx woman, who couldn't keep him because her apartment was too small, officials said.

“I believe the person who gave it to her thought she had a house, but she has an apartment,” said Mike Salmond, manager of the East Harlem shelter. “We were all very excited to receive such an usual animal.”

“One of our staffers was especially happy about it,” Salmond noted. “He was like ‘This is so cool! This is awesome!' ”

Howie is the first marsupial to be surrendered to a city shelter, animal care officials said.

His anonymous owner had Howie for about two weeks before she emailed the animal care agency Tuesday, saying she had to give the animal up. On Wednesday, she left the little jumper in a crate at the shelter.

Howie spent just a few hours in there, where he noshed on fruit.

“He grabbed the grapes with his little hands and seemed to really enjoy them,” said Leslie Spitzer, an admissions counselor at the shelter. “It's especially funny because every day we have different themes for naming our animals, and yesterday was Australian cities day.”

When Howie hopped into their hearts, shelter employees wanted to name him Rocko, for the character in the kids television show “Rocko's Modern Life,” which is about a wallaby who moves from Australia to the U.S.

“When we got him, there were a lot of ‘Rocko's Modern Life' references,” Spitzer said.

Salmond said Howie seemed “timid, but appeared well cared for.”

“As with any animal, whether it's a dog or cat or a wallaby from Australia, we do our best to make the animal not feel scared,” he said. “So, after we fed him we put a sheet over the crate to make him feel comfortable.”

While adorable, all marsupials are illegal to own in New York, according to the city Department of Health.

The next bounce on Howie's U.S. tour was a nobrainer: the Bronx Zoo.

“The Bronx Zoo considered this situation to be an animal welfare issue and agreed to take the wallaby because it has the resources and expertise to provide for the animal's needs,” said Bronx Zoo Director Jim Breheny. “The situation with this animal is a classic example of why exotic animals do not make good pets.”

The Aussie jumper's shelter-to-zoo adventure was filmed for an episode of Animal Planet's “The Zoo,” officials said.

Howie will undergo a routine 30-day quarantine so the zoo can assess his overall health, Breheny said.