Heartbreaking moment a baby rock wallaby tries to climb back into its dead mother’s pouch after she was hit by a car
- A baby rock wallaby tried to climb back into her dead mother’s pouch
- The mother had been hit by a car and was crawling with ants and flies
- A travelling cyclist noticed the helpless marsupial and took it to a refuge
- Rock wallabies are a threatened species
By Daniel Peters For Daily Mail Australia
Published: 10:38 AEDT, 31 July 2015 | Updated: 22:51 AEDT, 31 July 2015
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A helpless baby rock wallaby has been filmed trying to pry its way into its dead mother’s pouch, as she lies decomposing on the side of road, crawling with ants.
The joey was spotted by travelling cyclist, Chris Rishworth, at Magnetic Island – an island and suburb of Townsville in north Queensland.
Mr Rishworth noticed the heartbreaking interaction, and placed the joey into the basket of his bike, taking her to the local wildlife rescue shelter.
The baby rock wallaby was frightened and tried desperately to find her way back into her dead mother’s pouch.
Covered in ants and flies, the joey’s mother had been killed by a car.
Rock wallabies have had a tough history in Australia, where they are virtually extinct many parts of the nation as they struggle to fend off feral predators and land clearing.
The conservation of wallabies on Magnetic Island has allowed for a strong colony to flourish, along with a handful of other colourful wildlife species including turtles, koalas and over 180 species of birds,.
On the video clip, Mr Rishworth says: ‘The joey’s still trying to suckle off the nipple … and ants are just eating the mother alive’.
‘I’ll have to take her to town, otherwise she’ll die soon’.
Unfortunately, it’s quite common to find baby wallabies attached to the teat of their dead mother – often due to roadkill.
Experts suggest that it’s better off cutting the teat off than risking damaging the baby’s mouth, stressing the importance of keeping the baby warm and immediately into the care of a professional.
Baby wallabies can die very easily from stress.
Thankfully, this precious little marsupial was taken care of quickly, and is expected to make a full recovery and integration back into the wild when it grows older.
Brought to the Wallaby Refuge on Magnetic Island, the owner said she was ‘fine physically but a very frightened little girl’, and would be receiving a lot of tender loving care to help her recover.
