Wallaby, Rocket Races Towards the Wild

Rocket the brush-tailed rock wallaby ambassador from Aussie Ark has turned 6 months old and is now beginning to prepare for a return to the wild. He has been thriving under the care of Aussie Ark Operations Manager Dean Reid who took on the care of the joey after his mother abandoned him.

Mr Reid said. “He was naturally vulnerable and spent all his time curled up in his pouch. The main time I interacted with him was during bottle feeds, and he was very timid.”

The change to today is massive with Rocket now out of his pouch nibbling grass and bouncing off the furniture at Dean’s house.

“After his last feed at 10pm I let him jump around the couch!” Mr Reid said. “It’s a great way for him to strengthen his legs and work on his balance and is essential training for his natural environment.”

In the wild Rocket’s cousins are found in select areas of the Great Dividing Range. These areas act like islands separating the various populations of these animals. This means that habitat loss, fire and feral predation have an outsized impact on the survival of the species when they impact these areas. Due to these ongoing threats they have been listed as endangered.

While Rocket needed some help at the start of his life he will return to the wild as an adult. Dean and the Aussie Ark team will assist the transition of Rocket to a wild existence. Once back in the wild he can look forward to eventually meeting a girlfriend and helping to grow the population of his threatened species.