Wallaby Walkabout

Exhibit delights children at Oklahoma City Zoo

It’s not every day that guests at the Oklahoma City Zoo can hop into an exhibit, but they can now with the introduction of the Wallaby Walkabout.

The zoo removed wallabies from its collection in 2011, but the animals are back and have their own exhibit space where guests, young and old, can get into their habitat and interact with them.

“It’s very unique for guests to be able to get into an animal’s environment,” said Kimberly Leser, curator of the children’s zoo. “They don’t have that in most zoos.”

Guests aren’t allowed to feed or touch the wallabies, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.

“Wallabies are welcome to touch guests and that has happened,” Leser said. “But you really don’t need to touch them to have a connection. They are at eye-line for most kids so it’s easy to come away with a unique experience.”

So what’s the difference between a wallaby and a kangaroo? Size, mostly.

Wallabies are shorter and smaller. Both are marsupials, meaning they are born outside the mother’s pouch but have to find their way into it to continue developing. Wallabies have also adapted to be able to drink saltwater.

“Basically the primary difference is that kangaroos are larger, they can be around six feet tall,” Leser said. “Wallabies are about three or four feet tall.”

Wallabies are native to Australia, where they

remain under threat.

“They are native to Australia but are sometimes hunted by invasive species like feral cats,” Leser said. “They are a good example of how invasive species can be bad for native animals.”

So far the reaction to the exhibit, which opened this month, has been positive. Guests aren’t allowed to feed wallabies but can observe them interacting with their keepers, which might include feeding at enrichment events. The next public enrichment event for wallabies is April 13, to coincide with Easter.

“It’s a really neat habitat,” Leser said. “I enjoy watching the kids and their reaction. It’s the neatest thing to see them hopping along with the wallabies or watching them find out they can actually get into the habitat with them.”

Chet, a male wallaby, is at home in its new exhibit in the Children’s Zoo at the Oklahoma City Zoo.[PHOTO BY STEVE GOOCH, THE OKLAHOMAN]

[PHOTO BY STEVE GOOCH, THE OKLAHOMAN] Cody, a male wallaby, hops across its exhibit in the Children’s Zoo at the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden, Tuesday, March 14.